Last Escape
by reignofhavok
Summary: Nemesis was after the S.T.A.R.S. What if Jill and Brad weren't the only ones still in Raccoon City at the time? Was Chris really in Europe as he claimed to be?
1. The Meeting

Notes: Eh, nothing really. This is a kind of 'what if' challenge I set myself, because I was always kinda bugged that Chris was never actually in Raccoon City for any of the games. This will vaguely follow the RE3 plotline, but you'll see plenty of changes as it progresses. 

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The city was a dead zone. It had all started a few months beforehand with reports of strange murders in the Arklay region. Cannibal murders some had called them, on account of the fact the victims had been eaten. The S.T.A.R.S. team had been sent in to investigate, but only five members had returned. Their reports of what had happened however... outrageous. Who could believe that zombies had been behind it all? That Umbrella, who manufactured most of the city's products and had donated countless sums of money to them had created the problem? That was just crazy talk. Something had gone on all right. Likely some bungled mission the survivors had decided to blame on everyone but themselves. Typical.

But the attacks didn't stop. They started to move closer to the city, getting more frequent and violent. Within a month the people began to realise maybe they had been hasty in labelling the S.T.A.R.S. liars. After all, hard to argue with the evidence when a zombie's chowing down on your ankle. But it was too late. The people had refused to believe the truth for too long, even denied it despite the increasing number of attacks, often in broad daylight in the middle of the street. There could be no evacuation. The city was in a state of confusion, and the numbers of attacks had grown so fast it was pointless. The city was dead. There were going to be no survivors.

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_September 27_

Why am I still writing in this damn diary? It's not like these are moments I particularly want to remember for the rest of my life. Granted I can even get out of this hellhole alive. I'm alone. Surrounded by zombies. Shouldn't I be writing my last will and testament instead? You know what, screw it.

Jill closed the book and threw it on the bed. She didn't think she'd be needing a diary of recent events to help her remember in the years to come. Zombies weren't something you forgot quickly. Or the deaths of entire cities. No, a person tended to remember that quite well.

The city was dead. Over the last week it had been like an epidemic. No one had believed the S.T.A.R.S. when they tried to warn them, and now they were paying the price. It just wasn't right. Just because they were ignorant, that didn't mean they deserved to die. And certainly not in this manner. Feeding off each other, killing in the streets and fighting for space with the many other unnatural creatures out there. The zombies didn't scare Jill so much anymore, they were easy enough to navigate around once you knew how they worked. No, they weren't the problems. It was the Hunters, freed from some labs within the city. And some creatures she'd heard reports on called Lickers. They sounded fantastic. Not to mention the T-Virus had created ginormous snakes and plants at the Spencer Mansion, what could she expect out here in the city? Something big and ugly she assumed.

She'd hung around for long enough. The damage was done, there was nothing left to be gained. Chris had left for Europe to continue his investigations, while Barry had left to get his family to a safe home. Jill told her former teammates she'd remain behind and continue her investigations here, promising to get out before it became too dangerous. She gave a wry laugh. Left that a bit late.

So now she was going to have to navigate her way through a zombie (and monster) infested city. And go where? The place was hardly full of helpful faces ready to give her a hand along the way. Oh they'd give her a hand alright. Literally. Jill shuddered at the thought.

The R.P.D. Even amongst all this mess there still had to be officers holding out there. She'd lost contact with them about a week earlier, deciding it would be best for them all if she just 'disappeared'. Umbrella was onto them, she couldn't get her fellow officers hurt for her own needs. Yes. The R.P.D. it was. It wasn't too far away, with some careful planning (and some nice weapons) it shouldn't be too hard to reach. Then just take things from there.

Jill sat up and picked up her guns from the bed. It was a lot less than she'd be needing, but it still looked like a small arsenal. The R.P.D. was bound to have more goodies waiting for her, she could pick up the big guns (literally) there. Taking one last look at the place that had been her base for the last few weeks, Jill sighed and walked over to the door.

"It was nice knowing you Raccoon."

Jill stopped with her hand on the handle. Something didn't feel right. Rather, something didn't smell right.

'Oh no.'

She flung the door open and ran for the nearby entrance. She didn't get far however before a huge explosion lifted her from the ground, sending her flying through the air and landing roughly on the asphalt outside. She sat up slightly and shook her head, trying to get her bearings back. There was no time to ponder how the explosion had started because she was about to be dinner to five very hungry zombies.

Jill whipped out her handgun and shot the nearest zombie in the head, jumping over his slumping body as she ran. Her head pounded and she was covered in dirt, but it was hardly a fashion show. She vaulted over the nearby bins only to find even more zombies and a dead end. Fantastic way to start the day. She backed up, taking a few potshots at the closest zombies. She felt a door handle behind her and quickly turned it, not caring where it led. It was undoubtedly more desirable than being someone's dinner.

It was a warehouse. Nothing hugely of interest, unless one liked to watch screaming fat men as they babbled incoherently. Jill's heart went out to the guy, but when he locked himself in the truck she just shrugged her shoulders and continued on. Time was of the essence, arguing with a crazy man wasn't high on her agenda. She walked out into another alley and vaguely recalled where she was. She followed the familiar streets and alleyways, eventually ending up near the Bar Jack. Not too many zombies out this way, thank god.

A blood curtling scream came from nearby. God help her, Jill knew that scream. Knew it very well. She ran around the corner and saw a familiar yellow vest shooting at some zombies. "Wait!" she called out but the man kept shooting and screaming, stumbling up the stairs and running into the Bar. Jill followed him, stepping over the zombies he had just killed and opening the door. She was greeted to a gun to the face.

"Brad! Geez man, calm down, it's me!" Jill held her hands up in a defensive position. Her fellow S.T.A.R.S. teammate didn't look too hot. He had huge bags under his bloodshot eyes and was covered in blood and dirt.

"Oh fuck, Brad!" Jill screamed but it was too late. A nearby sleeping zombie had awoken with all the screaming and was chowing down on Brad's neck. He let loose another scream and fired point blank into its face, sending blood and gore everywhere. He dropped down to the ground and backed up against the counter, his hand trembling as he pressed it against his open neck wound. Jill ran over but Brad held a hand out towards her.

"No Jill! You have to get out of here! It's coming! It's after the S.T.A.R.S.! Don't you get it! Umbrella are cleaning up their mess, no one is going to survive! You have to get out of here!"

Jill frowned. "What's coming after us Brad?"

Brad straightened himself up and stood up, Jill doing the same. He looked at his hand and his expression dropped. He knew it was over, but he didn't have to let Jill see it happen.

"You'll see Jill, you'll see!"

He ran for the door and fled, his footsteps loud enough to wake the dead. Granted they weren't already up. Jill frowned again. What the hell had just happened? What was after them? What else could Umbrella possibly unleash? Whatever it was, Brad was petrified of it. Not that it really took a lot, but she'd never seen him in that shape before.

Jill took her gun out and sighed. She checked it was still loaded and followed Brad out the door. The R.P.D. was closeby. Maybe they could shed some light for her.

A few thankfully silent streets later Jill recognised some familiar architecture, although it certainly hadn't looked like this last time she was there. Should she really be surprised? It looked like there'd been a war, and who knows, there probably had been. Dead bodies (real ones, at least for now) littered the area, there were smashed up cars, traffic cones, planks of wood, and a few broken hydrants covering the area in a nice mist. Fantastic. Jill hoped the inside at least looked better, but she was starting to lose hope that there would be anyone in there to help her now.

She opened the R.P.D. gates and walked over to the door. Eerily quiet. Why, out of all places, was it so damn quiet here? The only sound was the spraying hydrants, and it was hardly comforting. Jill shivered. Just get inside. Get inside and deal with it in there, you know the R.P.D, plenty of places to hide if needs be.

Jill's heart stopped. A massive thud landed ('something's landed...?') behind her, so large the ground itself shook. That was never good. She almost didn't want to turn around, but it was Brad's petrified voice that did it again.

"Jill, look out!" he screamed, running into the main R.P.D. front area, still holding his bleeding neck. Jill turned and almost fell over at the sight before her. Well that was certainly new. A behemoth of... something. It may have once been a man, she couldn't tell. But it was huge, ugly, and that grinning smile of gigantic teeth wasn't the most comforting sight she'd seen all day. It was wearing a large trenchcoat and boots that looked big enough to squish her head to a paste should he so wish it. And it apparently looked like he did.

Brad fired a few shots into the creatures back and it turned to look at him. Deciding he was, for the time being, the more annoying prey, he turned and started to move towards Brad. He kept firing, backing himself into the fence. His face was a picture of fear, but Jill could also see something else, something new. Determination. Perhaps even some courage. Old Chickenheart had finally discovered his feet, but tragically too late.

The monster stomped over to him, the ground shaking under each step. Jill watched, mesmerised, as if she wasn't really there but just watching it on TV. She couldn't believe the creature standing in front of her, walking menacingly towards Brad, her only teammate left in Raccoon. Brad fired off a few more shots, looked at his gun and then threw that also at the monster. It just kept on moving, as if the bullets were nothing.

It finally stopped in front of Brad and placed its hand on his face, which would almost be comical in any other situation. But then the fingers gripped and Brad was lifted off the ground, dangling in the air. To his credit, he didn't scream. There was no time. A tentacle plunged out from the creature's arm and impaled Brad's face, going straight through his brain and out the other side.

Jill's eyes widened and she screamed, suddenly realising that this was all very real, and very dangerous. The creature turned, flinging Brad like a ragdoll so that he landed nearby. Jill looked down at her fallen comrade, shocked and disgusted by the sight. Had.. had that thing just plunged a tentacle through his head? Jill looked up again, the creature's face a mask of stony emotion. It muttered a single word she would never forget for the rest of her life.

"S.T.A.R.S..."

This was Umbrella's new creature, the one Brad had just warned her about and now given up his life to save her. The creature was moving towards her with the same speed it had walked over to Brad. Almost leisurely, like it knew it didn't have to hurry, the mission would soon be complete. Jill backed up, hitting the R.P.D. door. She fumbled with the handle while she continued to look at the creature. It just kept coming and coming.

thunk

Jill recognised that sound. It actually filled her heart with the faintest hope before she even consciously realised it. She saw something arc through the air and hit the creature, which ignored it as usual. But not for long. The object exploded mere moments after impact, setting the creature on fire. It actually fell back and started stumbling around, trying to put itself out. Jill looked around for the source of her invisible help, but couldn't see anyone. Well this was just a night of mystery wasn't it?

"We better get moving unless you want to end up like Brad," she heard whispered into her ear. Jill started and turned around. Her heart jumped into her throat and she resisted the urge to hug the speaker right then and there. It was Chris Redfield, and he was holding one really big grenade launcher.


	2. Revelations

"Chris! What are you doing here! I thought you were in Europe?" Jill was amazed. On any other day she'd probably think she was dreaming, but her dreams were never this clear (or grusome).

"We can talk about that later, we need to get inside first," Chris was still looking at the creature, who was trying to put out the fire. It stopped, looked at them and decided to charge again.

Chris kicked open the R.P.D. door and pushed Jill inside, slamming it quickly behind himself and holding against it. His face dropped at the sight before him. The R.P.D. was a mess, the entire place had been trashed and doors were boarded up everywhere. It had been a while since he had been here, but he certainly hadn't been expecting this.

"Jill, get me that wood over there!" he yelled, pointing to the pile lying by a nearby boarded up door. Jill quickly ran over and grabbed a few planks, bringing them back and positioning them by the door handles. It would keep the zombies out, but probably wouldn't stop their big friend for long. Almost on cue the door banged as he hit against it, a deathly roar shattering the silent night. Jill started and Chris stumbled forward.

"We need to keep moving!" Chris whispered, grabbing Jill's hand and dragging her over the foyer, still stunned at everything that had just gone on. He ran to the nearest door and turned the handle, grateful when it worked. He pushed Jill in first again and closed the door securely behind himself.

The room was an even bigger mess than the foyer. It was the main desk area for the R.P.D. cops, but the desks were strewn everywhere. The floor was littered in paper and the walls were covered in blood. Chris frowned as he saw a nearby desk covered in party hats and a large "Welcome Leon!" sign on it. Not the best day to join the force son.

The room was silent. Jill went to say something but Chris pressed a finger to her lips, just indicating for her to follow him. She frowned but did so anyway. He led the way, gun carefully aimed as he stepped carefully over the mess. The banging on the door could still be heard outside, but Chris didn't think it would last long. It would either give up and go away, or break the door down and come get them. They needed to move quickly.

Chris opened the door to the locker room, which looked a bit cleaner than the main office, but still had blood stains all over the walls. The entire place had been slaughtered by the looks of it, which meant they were bound to come across some zombies at one point or another. Hopefully later rather than sooner. They needed to get to the S.T.A.R.S. office to sort out their next move, it wouldn't do to be making a lot of noise before then.

The pair continued through to the next door, which opened into a hallway. Chris stopped for a moment. Up the stairs, down the hall, two more doors and then their office. Not too far, granted nothing jumped out at them along the way. Chris indicated to the wall on their right and the pair moved along it silently, staying the best they could away from the windows on the left. They reached the stairs with little hassle, but Chris could hear shuffling up above. Great.

He looked up and Jill nodded, checking to make sure her gun was loaded. The pair moved silently up the stairs, spotting the culprit shuffling along not too far ahead of them. Jill covered Chris' back while he took aim and fired. The zombie dropped with a thud before it even knew what hit it. The pair moved down the hallway back to back, Chris shooting one more zombie near the statue down the end.

He opened the door and the pair moved swiftly to the S.T.A.R.S. office door. So far so good. Chris tried to open the handle but it was locked. Great. He prepared to kick it in but Jill grabbed his wrist. He turned to look at her and she smiled. She pulled out her lockpick.

"There's no door I haven't been able to pick yet." She went to work and within moments the door was open. Jill turned the handle and stepped aside, a smug smile on her face. Chris wrinkled his nose and nodded, walking in. Jill followed and closed the door behind her. Well, at least their office hadn't been destroyed yet. That was something.

Jill walked over to her desk and sat down, her heartrate finally starting to return to normal after everything that had just gone on. She was still super-confused however, and had more questions running through her mind then she could consciously remember. So she decided to start with the most obvious one.

"Why are you here?"

Chris walked over to the communications equipment nearby and seemingly ingored her question for a moment. He fiddled with the dials but the radio was dead. Not even static. He sighed.

"I never left Raccoon."

Jill kept looking at him. He didn't even turn to see her reaction, just kept fiddling with the dials and looking over all the papers. That was supposed to explain everything? Like hell.

"What do you mean you never left? Where have you been? You were supposed to be investigating Umbrella in Europe!"

Chris finally stopped, turned around and scratched his head, as if the simple gesture would bring the answers to him. He sat back on the communications desk and pulled his gun out to check over, just for something to do with his hands.

"We don't need the long, boring story," he began finally. "Suffice to say, I've been here, continuing my investigations. I thought it would be best for all involved if I simply dropped off the map. Umbrella has spies everywhere, I couldn't even let you guys know. I'm sorry."

Jill pursed her lips, as if she wanted to press the issue, but decided not to. That didn't matter anymore, what mattered was that they needed to get out of town alive.

"Okay. Let's say for now I accept that answer," Jill began. Chris looked up at her while still checking over his gun. "For now, that is. I still have a lot of questions, and you better believe you're gonna give me the answers. We've been through far too much for you to lie to me about something like that."

Chris nodded his head, put away his handgun and pulled the other one out.

"Anyway, how did you know where I was? Not that I'm ungrateful or anything, but it's a bit strange you showed up at just the right moment to save my ass."

Chris looked at his gun more intently than ever. Again Jill thought he was going to ignore her question. He eventually gave up his charade and put his gun away.

"I've been watching you." He stated it like he was simply reading from a book. Jill raised her eyebrows.  
"You've been watching me?"

"Not like stalking or anything," Chris held his hands up, realising what Jill was thinking. "I've just been... looking out for you. I came across some... reports... in my investigations. They involved the S.T.A.R.S. I was just keeping an eye out to make sure you were okay. That you didn't run into..."

"Into that creature outside," Jill filled in the gaps. Her heart started pounding again just at the thought of it. The bangs against the door had died, but she didn't know whether to be grateful for that or not. But wait...

"You know about that thing?"

Chris nodded his head. "It's called the Nemesis. Jill, we've caused Umbrella too much trouble, they're serious this time. This is no regular old Tyrant, it's intelligent. It can be programmed. It has been programmed... to kill S.T.A.R.S."

Jill shivered as she recalled the one word Nemesis had said. S.T.A.R.S. Well that certainly made sense, in a twisted, Umbrella-type way. She was stupid to think they could just keep on investigating Umbrella without fear of reproach. And now Brad had died because of them. Brad was weak, but he hadn't deserved that, and certainly not because of their efforts. Her anger began to rise, almost cancelling out the terror. She nodded her head.

"So what are we going to do? Barry and Rebecca have left town. Or at least I assume so..." Jill paused to see if Chris was going to tell her otherwise. He just nodded his head in agreement. "So that just leaves us then. Either it kills us or we kill it."

"It's not that simple," Chris interjected. He scratched his head again and walked over to his desk. It was a mess, almost liked the trashed office downstairs. Only this was the normal state of being for his stuff. He picked up his jacket from the hook nearby, surprised it was still here after all this time, but also grateful. It was rather cold, even in the office.

"Why not?" Jill asked. Always straight to the point. He loved that, as much as it also annoyed him.

"You saw what Brad's bullets did to it. Nothing. This thing is stronger, stronger than anything we've come across so far. From what I could see in the reports, it's almost unkillable. The grenade I fired, that simply startled it. Jill, you're lucky to be alive."

He said it with such emotion in his voice that Jill started to feel frightened again. She stood up and walked over to him, noticing a wince as he sat down on his desk. "Chris, have you..."

"It found me. I didn't find it." Chris lifted up his shirt to show Jill what he was talking about. He had three large claw-like marks across his side, almost running the entire length from his hip to his collar bone. The wound looked a few days old and also rather red. He stood up and turned around, showing her a prize bruise on his back, absolutely huge.

"Smacked me. Hit the wall. Nothing I could do but run." Chris pulled his shirt back down and sat on the desk again. "It's fast. Very fast. But it can be outrun. It doesn't appear to be very bright either."

Jill was still looking at Chris' chest, despite the fact his shirt was down. She had a terrified look on her face.

Chris looked down at his shirt and then back up at Jill. "What?"

Jill finally dragged her eyes up to look him in the face. "Are... are you..."

"Infected?" Chris finished her question, a small smile on his lips. "I don't think I am. I've had no desire to eat flesh, if that makes you feel any better."

He gave her a smile but Jill didn't return it. He quickly dropped it. He never was the best joke teller on the squad.

"It's just a flesh wound, honestly. It happened a few days ago, it must have been when they first dropped Nemesis off. I uh... I think I'm highest on their priority list. I left my apartment and almost bumped right into it. Of course no one noticed because... well the zombies..."

Chris sighed. Despite all his efforts, the town was still doomed. At least his sister wasn't here. One thing to be grateful for.

"I don't think the creature itself is infectious, or I really think I'd be dead by now. You would have shot me in the head on your way through town by now I'm sure."

Jill frowned. She seemed to be doing a lot of that tonight. "Don't even joke about that."

"I'm not."

Jill shook her head. "We're not even having this conversation. When was the last time you cleaned that wound?" she asked, deftly changing the subject. It wasn't something she really wanted to keep thinking about.

Chris shrugged his shoulders. Jill walked over to Rebecca's desk and began rifling through it. Medical reports and crap everywhere. Considering she hadn't been in town that long, she had a lot of paperwork. Too eager to please, that one. Whatever. Jill finally found a first aid kit down the bottom and took it out. Still full, thankfully. Jill walked back over.

"You. Shirt off."

Chris opened his mouth to protest but closed it. Jill had her determined face on. It was either take the shirt off or have it taken off for him. He briefly considered that thought with a smile, but quickly put his serious face back on when he noticed Jill looking impatiently at him. He took his jacket off and removed his shirt. Standard S.T.A.R.S. issue. He hadn't exactly had a lot of time for shopping lately.

Jill began applying the balm to the wound, wondering if she'd even have enough for the job. How he hadn't bled to death simply amazed her. And yet he was still out there fighting, hell, even keeping an eye out for her. He was crazy. Absolutely crazy.

But she loved it.

Jill finished applying the balm, careful not to press too hard as the wound still looked inflamed. She looked up and saw Chris with his head up, eyes tightly closed. It hurt more than he wanted to let on. She briefly considered pressing it because of the lies he'd told her, but decided not to. She pulled out the bandages and stood up, tapping under Chris' arms to get him to lift them. He did so without a word.

"So," she began and started to wrapping the bandages around his chest. The silence was horrid, she'd had far too much of it lately. "Any ideas?"

Chris didn't particularly feel like talking, especially not with Jill's face so close to his own and her arms around his body.

"The city perimeter," he stated, his eyes still closed.

Jill continued wrapping the bandages. "Genius," she muttered. "Just genius." Fine. No more questions until she was done. She finished the rest of the job in silence. "There you go."

"Thanks nurse," Chris weakly smiled, but Jill saw something else written across his face. Fear? Tension? He grabbed his shirt and quickly put it back on, much to Jill's dismay.

"We need weapons," he finally stated. "Big ones."

Jill nodded. Duh. "Where?"

Chris put his jacket back on and walked over to the nearby weapons locker. He input the code and tried opening it but it was jammed. He kicked it a few times and smiled when the door finally opened.

"Here," he threw Jill a shotgun and took out a few boxes of rounds. He felt around and discovered the Magnum hiding on the top shelf. He smiled again. He checked it for bullets, it was thankfully still loaded. He also threw that to Jill and then emptied the locker of all bullets, regardless of whether or not they currently had guns for them. It's not like they'd be back here again.

Chris walked back over to Barry's desk and pulled out his map of Raccoon City. He laid it out and pulled out a pen while Jill walked over. He began to make marks around the edges.

"As far as I know, these areas are currently blockaided," he began. Jill's eyes widened with shock and she looked at him. This was news to her. "Since when?"

"The army began moving in sometime in the last few days. It's a large operation. Officially, there's been a toxic spill. The army have been trying to keep things in order, but they're not prepared for this kind of mass scale attack. They were slaughtered. They've since given up and resorted to simply keeping the infection contained. But they haven't locked off all the roads yet. At least I don't think they have."

Jill didn't bother even asking how he knew all this. Chris had his ways. He'd likely took part in some of the attacks.

"Some of the smaller streets are still free, but our best bet is up here," he pointed towards the top of the map, near the Raccoon City Hospital. "If the Raccoon Line is still working we could probably take it the majority of the way there and avoid... the zombies..." He meant Nemesis. He just didn't want to say it.

"What about the river?" Jill suggested. Chris shook his head. "I don't think you want to go there. Alligators. Big ones."

Jill's eyes widened again and she nodded. No. She could live without seeing another oversized, infected animal ever again. Especially an alligator.

"So we go to Central Station then and just hope the train is still working? I have to say Chris, I'm not loving this idea."

Chris looked at her. "Have any better ideas?"

Jill sighed and shook her head. She walked back over to her desk, absent mindedly picking up her old S.T.A.R.S. beret and twirling it on her finger. "What about our friend?"

"You've still got legs?"

Jill turned to look at Chris to see if he was serious. He was.

"You're telling me to run? It can't be taken down?"

"I'm telling you," he began, wrapping up the map and putting it in his back pocket, "that I haven't taken it down. And to be honest, I really don't think we have enough to take it down even if we could survive long enough to fight it. You saw what it did to..." he sighed. This whole thing, it was just wrong. So wrong. "It's covered in... tentacles I guess. You saw what they did to Brad, I'm sure I don't have to remind you. It's covered in them. That's why it wears the jacket, it's not a fashion statement."

Jill continued twirling her beret. She did not want to be running from that thing for the rest of the night. If they could take it down, even briefly, that would give them some leeway to get away. She kept her thoughts to herself.

"What if it's still outside?"

"If it's still outside, it's still outside. We just need to be quiet and quick. We'll head out the back entrance and then head straight for Central Station. Take it from there."

Jill didn't like it, but what else was there? They could hardly sit around here all night, as appealing as it sounded. There was no help coming, they were on their own. But at least now she wasn't entirely alone. Time to show Umbrella what they were made of.

"Alright. Let's do it."

Chris nodded and the pair headed for the door, large weapons in hand. He took one last look at the office they had inhabited for the last few months and clenched his jaw. He hoped against hope it would be a quick getaway. 


	3. Setbacks

Chris walked along the strangely silent street, his eyes and ears open for any movement. Jill tagged along behind him, apparently deep in thought. Their escape from the R.P.D. had been quick and painless, the Nemesis apparently had business elsewhere. Chris hoped he would remain there until they at least reached Central Station. The more direct route had been blocked, so they'd have to go around the long way. Typical. 

The pair continued moving silently. Chris occasionally turned to get a glimpse of Jill out the corner of his eye, but she wasn't talking. He wasn't going to press the issue. If she had something she wanted to say, she'd say it. She always did. Besides, he didn't feel like much talking anyway. Talking would just attract more monsters. Or cause him to say something stupid.

The pair reached a corner and stopped. Chris leant against the wall and lit up a cigarette, ignoring Jill's frown at him. She rubbed her arms, trying to free herself from the cold wind. "Why are we stopping?" she finally asked, looking around as if something was about to jump out at them. Who knows, there probably was something waiting around the next corner. Wouldn't surprise him.

Chris blew out some smoke and looked around. Jill hadn't noticed because she'd been deep in thought since they'd left, but someone... something had been following them. Expertly so. It wasn't the Nemesis. He was all growls and thrashing. No, this someone was quiet, covert. Stuck to the rooftops in utter silence. They were being tracked by yet another agent of Umbrella's no doubt. Perhaps just in case the Nemesis failed in his job. Who would have thought two cops would have been so important?

The shadowy figure had disappeared for the time being, or was hiding very well. Oh well, nothing he could do about it. If he attempted to shoot the culprit that would give the game away, their tracker would know he had been found and likely snipe them both. The simple fact he hadn't so far meant he was just watching them. Perhaps to see where they were going, what they were doing. Maybe, Chris thought wryly, he was collecting combat data just like Wesker had. It seemed the likeliest explanation. Then once he was done, finish the job. For now they would be safe, so long as they didn't act aware.

Jill was still looking at him impatiently. Chris couldn't tell her. At least, not out here. He gave her a half smile. "Let's go see what the restaurant's cooking hey?"

Jill raised an eyebrow, giving him her best 'are you serious?' look. "They might have supplies, and we can get off the streets for a bit."

Chris gave another look around and, satisfied their tracker wasn't following them any longer, they set off again. An uncomfortable silence filled the air almost instantly. Jill just walked beside him, gun in hand, not saying anything. She wouldn't even look at him. She was pissed off, he knew it, and likely at him.

Chris resigned himself to the fact he did what he felt had been best and left it at that. Jill would pressure him later when she wanted to thrash it out. Because thrash it out she would want, and it would be best if they were at least inside when she started to go off. They passed the fountain and Chris spotted the Grill 13 entrance just ahead. So far so good, they hadn't encountered anything dead or unholy. He prayed that luck would hold out, but did wonder why this part of town had been so eerily quiet. Had the Nemesis come through this way?

Chris opened the door and walked inside, gun aimed in front at anything that may move. Jill walked in behind him and closed the door. The room was filled with silence. Nothing.

"Let's go to the kitchen," Chris stated and began walking, not waiting for a reply. Jill followed him. The kitchen still had some flickering lights, which was quiet unnerving. Chris was already rifling through the cupboards, looking for anything that might be of use. He pulled out a first aid kit and spread it across a nearby bench. Bain-aids, burn cream, antiseptic. Nothing that would heal a Nemesis scratch, but better than nothing at all. He began packing it into the pockets of his cargo pants.

Jill looked around. Nothing but ovens and preperation areas. She sighed and sat on the nearby bench. Chris took off his grenade launcher and placed it next to her.

"How's your cut?" Jill finally asked. She couldn't think of a better way. How Chris, how's your back, side, chest and general torso area? Bet that feels real nasty!

"Fine," he replied. As always. It was always fine. Or good. Nothing ever hurt the fantastic Mr Chris Redfield. He'd keep running around till he had no blood left in his body to keep going. She could tell it was hurting him though. He'd taken to holding his side unconsciously as they walked.

To put it frankly, Jill was worried about him. And to be selfish for a moment, she was also worried for herself. They had no idea what this Nemesis could do. What if Chris really was infected right now? What if he was on his way to becoming a zombie, or even something else? She shook her head, trying not to think of it, although she really couldn't stop. She couldn't shoot Chris if he turned, she just couldn't. It had been hard enough at the mansion when she'd found Forrest. But Chris...

He was looking at her. He'd stopped his rummaging and was looking at her with that unreadable face of his. Jill gave him a small smile, but she didn't really feel it. "Anything useful?" she finally asked, if only to break the look.

"Some medical supplies. No bullets though."

Jill nodded. Why a restaurant would have bullets anyway, she didn't know. But it didn't hurt to check either. Especially in Raccoon City. She turned back and Chris was still looking at her.

"What?"

He continued to look for a moment longer. His face remained impassive. "Don't look around, don't act shocked, don't even search with your eyes. Okay?"

Jill frowned. What the hell?

"Okay?" he repeated.

Jill nodded.

"We're being followed."

She kept frowning, but her heart rate jumped. "By what?" she asked.

"I don't know," Chris answered. "A person, I think. Likely an Umbrella operative. Sent to make sure we don't make anymore trouble, or we don't get out alive. I don't know. But for now he's just been watching us. The mission obviously isn't to kill on sight... I think he wants data." Chris frowned just thinking about Wesker. "Nemesis data, if anything."

Jill nodded, trying to hide the surprise in her eyes. Those bastards. How hadn't she spotted this? Too damn caught up in her own world. She needed to snap out of it, and fast. It wouldn't just kill her, it would kill Chris too.

The lights kept flickering, setting an eerie environment.

"Chris?"

He looked at her, trying to keep his gaze from wandering. It had been getting harder and harder. He had been so tempted to ask Jill why, on all nights, she had decided to wear a mini skirt tonight, but he kept the question to himself. He'd likely get smacked up the head for it. Jill was Jill. She just did what she wanted. Of course, not that he minded, but it would likely leave him a nervous wreck if a horde of zombies attacked. All that exposed flesh...

"What?" he finally asked, dragging his thoughts from other impure places.

She licked her lips but then just shook her head. "Nothing. Don't worry. Are we gonna get going?"

Chris eyed her for a moment before picking up his grenade launcher and slinging it on his back. "No time like the present, or so I'm told." He began heading towards the back door. Jill remained for a moment, trying to gather her thoughts. Just what had she wanted to ask him anyway? Chris, I know you're probably infected and all, but hey, I think you're looking pretty hot. Hell, I think I might even love you, how do you like them apples? And hey, what about those zombies? Crazy bastards aren't they?

Jill rolled her eyes and jumped off the desk. A loud thud nearby shot her nerves again and she quickly looked in the direction of the door. Chris had hit the floor, hard, and was swearing at something. He was trying to reach his gun but was struggling. He grabbed his knife instead and threw it at something, making a loud squelch.

Jill ran over, gun in hand and recoiled at the sight before her. Something... almost reptilian, but not quite was stuck to the walls like a lizard. It had no eyes, but definitely brains. They were on show for the whole world to see. It currently had its rather long tongue wrapped around Chris' ankle, and was trying to drag him away. She could see blood pooling under his leg, but couldn't tell whether it was his or the creatures.

She began firing at the it, aiming for the brains. It screeched and tried to run off, but Jill fired a few more shots and the thing finally dropped, letting out one almighty howl before stopping all movement entirely.

"Shit!" Chris exclaimed, holding his ankle. Jill knelt down and cringed at the sight. The creature's tongue had been razor sharp, in tightening around his ankle it had also cut into it, cutting right through his boots and into the skin. He took the boot off and inspected the wound.

"It doesn't look too deep. Just as well you raided their medical supplies," Jill tried to smile, but she was sure it didn't look like one. She was trying her best not to look horrified at the sight. Not deep, sure, but it still looked like hell, and there was a lot of blood.

She removed the jumper from around her waist and tore off the arm. She began to wrap it around his ankle, tying it tightly and cringing as she saw Chris do the same. He wouldn't complain about it, oh no, but she was sure it still hurt like hell.

"Thanks," he grimaced, grabbing for his boot and putting it straight back on.

"Maybe we should wait here for a while?" Jill suggested, standing up and looking at Chris worriedly as he stood and hobbled over to the creature. He turned it over with his good foot and pulled his knife out of its brains. He sheathed it and turned back to Jill. "There's no time and you know it."

"Chris, for gods sake!" Jill ran over and pushed him back into the wall. "Look at you! I know you like all this macho hero crap, but for christs sake you nearly just lost your foot. And look, you're bleeding again!"

She was pointing to his stomach. In the struggle his Nemesis wound had reopened and had started to bleed again.

"The train isn't going anywhere Chris. And neither are you. Let's just rest up a moment and sort out what we're going to do, okay?"

Chris nodded, but he hated the idea. They needed to get out. Each moment they were in Raccoon City was a moment longer the Nemesis had to kill them. Because he would kill them, if he ever came across them again. Chris wouldn't have that, and a bung ankle wasn't going to stop him either. He'd hop the entire way if that was how it had to be.

"Look," Jill began, pacing in front of him. She was deep in thought, desperately trying to come up with some plan that could deal with this minor setback. At least she was treating it as a minor one, it was only a foot injury after all. They'd both dealt with worse. Chris currently was still dealing with worse.

"Okay, you, stay here," Jill pointed to Chris again, her finger pressed against his chest. He opened his mouth to say something but Jill shook her head. He closed it again. "I'll go scout ahead. I know where the trolley cart is, it's not that far and you know it. I'll check to see if the route is clear and come back for you, okay?"

Chris frowned in disagreement. "You need time to let that rest," Jill argued, pointing to his ankle that was still bleeding. "And that," she pressed his stomach again, causing him to flinch. "So don't even think about arguing, or I'll have to shoot you myself."

Chris continued frowning. "Fine. But if you're not back soon I'm going to head out there and find you myself."

Jill rolled her eyes and helped him back over to the kitchen bench. He sat down and Jill put a hand on his knee. "I'll be careful. Don't worry. I'll be back soon."

She began to head towards the back entrance.

"Yeah, but what about me?"

Jill smiled and ignored the question. Chris sighed and looked at his bleeding ankle grimly. What a way for the night to kick off.

---------------------

The back alley was quiet. Eerily so. Jill walked down the steps and began to head for the direction of City Hall. Just straight ahead, not too far away. She kept her gun out however, just in case.

This night just really wasn't going as planned. She had intended to get to the R.P.D., get some weapons, help the survivors and hopefully escape with them. Instead some big freak was on her tail, there was a spy somewhere out there, likely watching her right now, and of all people Chris had shown up, definitely looking the worse for wear. She had to make this quick, the idea of leaving him alone wasn't all that appealing. For more than one reason.

She pushed open the gates at the end of the alley and peered through. Nothing but a lot more wreckage. The Press Office also seemed to be on fire. Jill couldn't help but grin. After the reports they'd published about her and the other S.T.A.R.S., well she was hardly going to lament over it. She crossed over the street quickly and pushed open the City Hall gates. So far so good.

The place was dead. Literally so. She could see a few dead bodies lining the path, likely city workers who just couldn't get out in time. She edged along slowly, keeping away from the nearby windows. If she'd learnt anything in the last few months, it was to stay away from windows. Things liked to jump out of them. She reached the end of the path and was faced with a junction. Left led to the garage station, right to the train station. There was a body lying in the path she'd have to step over however. Looked like a solider of some sort.

Jill walked over and pointed her gun down. She tentatively kicked the body with her foot, but it didn't move. The normal kind of dead. Hallalujah. She leant down and noticed a familiar logo on his vest. Her blood began to boil. Umbrella. Umbrella now had soldiers in town? Fantastic. She noticed the solider holding something in his hand and picked it up. A report? Jill scanned over it and smiled. There might be some hope left for them yet. She folded it up and tucked it into her skirt, planning to show it to Chris once they got back.

She continued past the body, reaching the end of the path with little problem. The zombies appeared to be on strike in this part of town. Yay. Although lack of zombies usually just meant there was something bigger and meaner hanging around. Something like Nemesis.

Another dead body lay in the path, covering the entrance to the door. Jill walked up warily, trying to edge around him. The path really wasn't big enough for the two of them. She kept her gun pointed down, but still let out a shriek as the dead body suddenly reached up and grabbed her leg.

"Jesus!" Jill screamed, trying to shake the thing off. It held tight, leaving Jill little recourse. She brought her foot down hard and fast on its head, causing a horrible squelch beneath her boots. "Oh god," she muttered, trying not to look down at it. Something like that just never got any easier. She quickly opened the door and hurried across to the next one.

She leant back against it for a moment and sighed. The first time she crushed a zombie's head she'd been sick, quite literally. She resisted the urge to do the same again and pressed on. Almost there. The pathway was, as the ones before it, dead silent. But she was almost there, Central Station was right next to her. So long as nothing blocked the path outside the next door it was all fine. She could rush back, grab Chris and they'd be on their merry way.

Jill opened it and quickly slammed it shut. Fan-freaking-tastic with a side dish of wonderful. Dogs. Quite a few. And flaming wreckage blocking the path. Her favourite. Jill took stock of her weapons. The Beretta was useless against multiple enemies. The Magnum, no, no use wasting the precious few bullets on dogs. Shotgun then. If she got lucky, she could take out a few with the one shot.

She could hear them growling and scratching around on the other side of the door. They hadn't seen her yet though. Advantage; Jill. Psyching herself up, Jill kicked open the door and started blasting. The dogs went down one after the other, yelps of pain and growls of anger as they did so. One began charging for her, leaping just as she fired off another shot, blowing it's face off. Jill cringed and aimed for the last dog, ending its miserable life with one final bang.

Jill walked over to check they really were all dead, her ears ringing from the gunfire. One let out a few final yelps before ceasing all movement. Great. No fuss, no muss. Although her boots could use a clean. Next problem; the flaming wreckage.

"Who puts crates along a street anyway?" Jill muttered to herself, surveying the flaming boxes. Likely some idiots who figured zombies couldn't get over them. Maybe so, but it wouldn't stop a dog. Or a Hunter. Or anything else Umbrella had let loose.

She walked over and began shoving one out of the way, trying to keep away from the heat. It was heavy, but it was still moving. She kept pushing until it was free enough that she could walk past. She smiled at the sight before her. The trolley cart. It was still there.

----------------------------------------

Chris pulled his knife out, digging holes into the bench. He'd already rifled through all the drawers and cupboards he could see, the place had been cleaned out of just about anything even remotely useful. He began to carve his name, just for something to do. Jill had been gone for a bit, but not long enough that he was really worried yet. Nothing else had so far decided to stumble by and give him a fight, for which he was kind of grateful. Although killing something may help him feel a bit better. The pain in his side had flared up again, and it was joined by the seering heat in his ankle. Well, at least it was no longer bleeding everywhere.

Chris jabbed the dagger into the table and sighed. How useless he felt while Jill was out there doing all the dirty work. It should have been him. He should have insisted upon going, what if Nemesis came upon her? Or even something else? Nemesis was hardly the only deadly creature in the city. Not to mention their rooftop friend.

He frowned and tried to shut his brain off. Jill was a big girl, she could handle herself. She'd handled herself at the mansion just fine, and had survived the Raccoon outbreak thus far. No, it wasn't really that he was worried about. It was just the thought of losing her. They had been close, even worked as partners after the mansion, but he knew it was a lot more than just that. That's why he hadn't left. Why he'd been looking out for her. Why he couldn't let her die. When it came down to it, he knew he'd throw himself upon the Nemesis before letting it get anywhere near her. If that's what had to be done, then it would be done.

'So why are you sitting here then?' his brain protested. 'You can walk on a sore ankle, you big whinging baby. So get up and do it.'

Chris stood up, ignoring the pain in his leg and the slight wobble as he did so. Damn right. He hadn't made his presence known just so Jill could look after him. They would do it together, and that meant pulling his weight too. He grabbed his knife and put it back in the sheath.

"Going somewhere?"

Chris started and turned around. Jill was standing there, smiling at him. He hadn't even heard her come in. She handed him a piece of paper.

"What's this?"

"Read it."

Chris opened it up and quickly scanned it. "Is this for real?" he asked, looking up with not-quite-so hopeful eyes.

Jill shrugged her shoulders. "Your guess is as good as mine. Found it on the dead body of an Umbrella soldier. Could be them fucking with us. Could be legit."

Chris nodded. He wouldn't put it past them. Still, it couldn't hurt to try either. And it was on the way. He folded the paper up and put it in one of his pockets. An escape helicopter at the Clock Tower. It almost seemed too good to be true. And when Umbrella was involved, that was almost always the case.

"Let's do it," he finally said. "We're heading in that direction anyway."

"You really think Umbrella operatives are just going to let us on the chopper?" Jill asked him, eyebrow raised. Chris looked down, noticing her boots covered in blood and dirt. He frowned.

"They're not going to have a choice," he looked back up. "Where's this dead body?"

Jill looked at him blankly for a moment before cottoning on and smiling. Maybe, just maybe they would actually have a chance.

"Come on, I'll show you. The pathway is clear in any case, let's go."

Jill leant under Chris' shoulder and the pair hobbled out together. If things went their way, they'd be out of this hellhole in no time.

_If _things went their way.


	4. Fire in the Sky

Chris settled into the chair next to the driver's seat. Other than some rain downfall the trip to the trolley had been quick. Perhaps not painless, but quick. Either way, they were here now, if all went well it would be over soon.

Jill began fiddling with the controls. She knew a lot more about that sort of stuff than he did, mechanics and vehicle maintaince had been her speciality after all. He was happy to ler her sort it out while he rested.

It didn't take her long. The engine soon roared to life and she turned around, giving Chris the brightest smile he'd seen in a long, long time. He smiled back.

"Let's haul ass outta here," she continued smiling, putting the trolley into gear as it roughly started across the tracks. Chris leant his head back against the window, sighing in relief. The ride itself didn't take that long if he remembered correctly, half an hour maybe, but it would give them time to sit back and relax, if only briefly.

Jill walked over and sat down next to Chris, their knees touching. He suddenly felt less relaxed.

"How's your ankle holding up?" she asked him, concern in her voice.

"Fine." His trademark answer.

Jill nodded and then began pulling his shirt up.

"Hey hey, whoa!" Chris exclaimed, grabbing her hands. "Where the hell do you think you're going?"

Jill raised an eyebrow. "I was going to check your wound. If that's okay with you."

Chris quickly let go of her hands. Way to overreact. Maybe the blood loss was starting to affect his head. His nodded and shook his head at the same time. "Yeah. Right. Fine. Sorry."

Jill continued to look at him for a moment longer before lifting the shirt up. The bandages had started to turn red in spots from the bleeding. Nothing too bad though, which she was grateful for. She slightly ran her hand across them, Chris' quick intake of breath as she did so not going unnoticed. She tried to hide a smile.

She pulled his shirt back down and did smile. She was actually feeling quite chipper now. They hadn't run across anymore problems, the train was going, they'd soon be out of here. So long as their friend didn't crash the party it should all be smooth sailing.

She checked to see the merc's vest they'd stolen was still on the seat nearby and smiled. Yep. She certainly wouldn't have thought of it herself, something so simple. Umbrella was huge, she doubted they'd remember the faces of each and every goon they hired. So long as you looked the part, it was all good. The thought of stealing one of their helicopters was also satisfying.

Jill got up and began pacing back and forth in front of Chris. She couldn't sit still. Was she actually excited? Hell yes, to be out of this craphole of death. Who wouldn't be? She turned and looked at Chris, dour as ever.

"What's your problem?" she asked him. He turned to look at her, confused.

"I'm sorry?"

"You. Misery guts. Why the long face?"

Chris gave a small, disbelieving laugh. "I don't know. Maybe this," he pointed to his stomach. "Maybe this whole thing in general. These people didn't deserve to die. I can't help but think we could have done something more..."

Jill sat back down next to him and placed her hand on his knee. He looked at it. "We did all we could Chris. The people didn't want to believe us. Couldn't believe us, really. It's Umbrella's fault. Not ours."

Chris nodded, dragging his eyes back up to Jill's face. She was looking at him intently, seemingly searching his face. The trolley cart kept rolling along, the movement fading into the background. Rain splattered the bloody windows. Everything was silent but the sound of the motor.

Jill's eyes were still searching his intently. Searching for what? The look scared him, her gaze almost pierced right through him. He tore his eyes from hers, turning towards the front window. No. No way. Not here, not now. He couldn't even entertain the thought. There was a job to do, no complicating matters. Complete the mission. Get Jill out alive. That was all that mattered. He put his soldier face on and tried to ignore the proximity of Jill's naked legs next to his.

Her hand was still on his knee. He suddenly felt uncomfortable. Why was she doing this? Did she like torturing him? Of course she did. She was Jill Valentine. Tease extraordinaire. How else to explain the outfit? She was just that damn sure.

Chris coughed as he tried to speak, desperately trying to keep his thoughts from running rampant. "When... when we get to the Clock Tower," he began, trying to avoid looking at Jill out of the corner of his eyes, "you stay out of sight, okay?"

He could vaguely see Jill nodding her head. She finally removed her hand and crossed her legs, giving Chris a whole lot more to see than previously. He didn't know what was worse. He continued looking forwards as he spoke.

"We'll call them down, I'll get on board, commandeer the thing and then you come out. We'll be out of here before anyone realises it. Hopefully before both our friends realise it."

Jill screwed up her face unconsciously. Like she wanted to meet that thing again. Or even the other one. She wondered where Nemesis was, but hoped that wherever it was, it stayed there.

"Where to then?" Jill asked, allowing herself a brief moment to entertain the thought they really were going to get out alive.

Chris shrugged his shoulders. "Europe."

Jill gave a small laugh. Yeah, where you should be right now. She couldn't remain angry though. Fact is, she'd probably be dead right now if he was. Grateful tended to outweigh anger.

The pair sat in silence on the chairs for a while longer, watching the rain hitting the windows. At least it was clearing them up and they could see outside. It was still chugging along at a merry speed, which was something else to be grateful about. Jill watched the buildings passing by through the trees, allowing herself to mourn again for the city she had once called home. Umbrella would pay, she'd make certain of it.

"How much longer do you think?" she finally asked, breaking the silence that had fallen. Chris turned to look at her. "I don't know. Shouldn't be too much farther."

Jill nodded and settled back in. Chris was never one for small chat, trying to keep it going would be futile. So what else was there to do? He clearly had his mind elsewhere. Or was trying at least to keep it there. She sighed. Fine. Just you wait till we get to that helicopter then...

The trolley continued to trundle along, occasionally jumping as it hit tiny bumps along the tracks. There was silence. So much silence. It was almost enough to drive Jill insane. She'd grown to really hate silence lately.

Jill stood up, intending to go sit in the driver's seat to see if they were closing in on their destination. A large bump from the back shook her however, sending her stumbling back onto Chris.

"Jesus. What the hell was that?" she muttered, extracating herself and pulling out her gun. Chris pulled himself up and did the same. His heart began pounding a hundred miles a minute. He knew what it was. They'd been found. Their quiet trip was over.

He ran to the control panel as Jill moved slowly towards the door to the back cart. She was just about to open it as Chris noticed another obstacle; flaming wreckage blocking the path up ahead. Either way, they needed to get out of this trolley, and fast.

Jill opened the door, her heart dropping the moment she saw the culprit. Nemesis. It appeared to be sniffing (it had no nose?), but looked up as Jill had opened the door. It growled that catchphrase that still struck fear into her heart.

"S.T.A.R.S..."

"Oh fuck," she muttered, slamming the door shut again and locking it. A lot of good that would do.

"We've got company!" Jill yelled, but Chris had already grabbed her arm and was pulling her towards the front of the cart.

"Grab that vest!" he screamed, smashing the butt of his gun against the window glass. It shattered everywhere.

"What the...?"

"No time!" Chris screamed as the Nemesis broke down the door, sending it flying.

"Fuck me..." Jill muttered again, but she soon felt herself being thrown out the window, Chris behind her. They hit the ground roughly, tumbling into a roll. Despite his injuries Chris was instantly back on his feet, grabbing Jill's arms again and yanking her up.

"No sightseeing, run!"

Jill stumbled along behind him, dazed. She watched as the trolley continued, the Nemesis still on it. She could now see the flaming wreck it was about to hit. Her eyes widened as she realised what was about to occur. Fireworks. Big fireworks.

She shook off her shock and continued to run behind Chris, no idea where they were heading. She hoped at least he knew. She dodged the trees, clinging to Chris' hand the best she could. They reached a clearing just as she heard the explosion. The cart had hit, and as expected, exploded. She could feel the heat from it as fire leapt into the sky. Chris didn't stop though, he kept running. How the hell was he running so hard and fast with his ankle like that?

There was no time to ask. He was bounding across the terrain like a hunter after the kill. Or the prey being hunted. Then she spotted it. The Clock Tower. It was just up ahead. His geography of the city had always been magnificent. She briefly wondered if the Nemesis could survive such an explosion and then pushed it from her mind. Get to cover first. Get to that helicopter.

They bounded over the last clearing and hit the Clock Tower entrance. Jill leant down on her knees to breathe for a moment while Chris fiddled with the door. Not locked, but jammed. He finally hit it with his shoulders and moved in, waiting for Jill and then closing it behind her. He grabbed a nearby shelf and pushed it in front of the door. One could never be too careful.

He began to walk down the hallway, looking around for anything that may attack. Here at least looked empty. Jill leant against the wall, still puffing from the run. Chris was holding his side again, and his ankle was bleeding. Jill shook her head. He was going to kill himself before the Nemesis did.

"Chris, for gods sake..." she puffed, pushing off the wall and walking over to him. He was still striding ahead to the next door, but stopped abruptly and turned around. "The vest."

Jill looked at him, confused and just a bit tired. "What?"

Chris nodded to the vest she was holding. "The vest."

"Are you for real? Let's sit down for a few moments and regain our breath first."

Chris walked over and grabbed it himself, removing his jacket and throwing it on the nearby couch. He put the vest on and buttoned it up. He looked down and noticed his S.T.A.R.S. logo still showing on the arm of his shirt. He grabbed it and ripped it off, placing it next to the jacket.

"No time to waste," he told her, walking over to the next door with his Beretta out. "We're almost there."

Jill let out disappointed sigh and followed him, holding her shotgun instead. She didn't feel like messing around with little bullets right now. If something hassled them, time to just blow the damn thing away.

They entered a large main hall, the stairs leading to the upper levels and eventually the bell they needed to reach. The report made note of ringing the bell when it was time to be evacuated, the helicopter would be waiting nearby. All in all, they should be out of here within 10 minutes.

Chris noticed some more merc's lying in the corner of the room. He frowned. Great. Looks like they weren't the only ones who had the same idea. He eyed them but continued to the staircase, nodding to Jill at them as he did so. She kept an eye on them as they walked up.

Chris reached the top of the stairs and swore. He held a hand out, stopping Jill in her tracks. "What?" she whispered. He pointed to a nearby corner in the roof. Web. Spider web. And lots of it. Jill's heart sank.

Chris pulled out his grenade launcher and tentatively took a step forward. They were right on a corner. It wasn't really a matter of what was around the next bend, oh he could guess what, but rather, how many. He signalled to Jill to stay put and turned, aiming his gun.

Just as he'd thought. Spiders. Big spiders. But only two of them. Praise the lord and all that jazz.

He fired a blast at the nearest one, the familiar thonk sound satisfying as it did so. It hit the spider and it suddenly burst into flames, screeching and running around. It came at him but dropped at his feet, letting out a few more twitches as the acid melted it away. He fired at the next one, also charging at him, but it had much the same effect. He was left with two grissly, sticky messes on the floor, but nothing to block their way out.

He took a step back and nodded at Jill, who was still eying the dead bodies downstairs. They so far hadn't moved. She nodded back and followed him, stepping carefully around the gooey mess on the floor. She'd never actually been up in this part of the Clock Tower, so she just followed Chris' lead.

Chris strode over and opened the door. It led out to the balcony, from which the bell could be reached via a nearby ladder. Jill could feel her heartbeat rising. They were so, so close. They'd soon be out of this hellhole forever.

Chris walked out, stopping slightly as he noticed yet another dead body. It was lying at the foot of the ladder. Great. He pulled out his Beretta and walked over, tentatively tapping its foot with his own. It didn't move. He kicked it again, harder this time. He stumbled backwards as it suddenly rose, his heartbeat in his throat. He'd only ever seen one thing rise that like before, and it hadn't been pretty.

Crimson Head.

It suddenly turned and screeched an ungodly howl, its face bright red and fearsome looking. It was another merc by the looks of it. Had they all died trying to escape here? Chris had no time to ponder the thought as the creature lunged for him, its deadly claws swiping the air as it moved with ferocious speed. Chris grabbed onto its wrists as the thing slammed him into the balcony fence, its teeth knashing and claws desperately trying to grab at his face.

"Jesus Jill, do something!" Chris screamed, using all his energy to hold the thing off. It was screaming that howl that had given him nightmares for weeks, and its teeth were way too close for comfort. Jill was seemingly stunned by the speed at which everything had been happening, but took aim with her shotgun, trying to get a steady shot that wouldn't blow Chris' face off as well.

"Shoot!" he screamed again, beginning the lose the struggle with this ugly creature. He closed his eyes as he was suddenly showered with blood and gore. The creature's struggling continued on for a few more moments before it went limp and dropped in his hands. Jill had blown its head off, and thankfully not his at the same time.

Chris stood there, leaning back against the barrier stunned. He was covered in blood and the body was still lying at his feet. That was the closest he'd ever been, and he never wanted to be in that position again.

He suddenly realised he was now covered in zombie blood and frantically ripped the vest off as if it were on fire. He threw it down and struggled out of his own t-shirt, using it to desperately wipe the blood off his face. Oh crap, oh crap. Not good, really not good. He kept wiping, as though the blood itself was going to melt his face off. Maybe not, but he knew the one effect it would have. He was not going to become one of them. Not here. Now now. Not ever.

He threw the shirt down, red and covered in blood and gods know what else. Bits of brain maybe. He felt shaken, and judging by the look on Jill's face, she did too. She stood in the doorway, looking at him stunned. Stunned she had made the shot, or stunned at how he had just freaked out? Maybe both.

Chris took a few more deep breaths. Right. Just a minor setback, he was over it now. The blood was gone. He would be fine. It would all be fine. He nodded to himself and straightened up. Get the job done soldier. There are still things to do.

He walked over and picked up the vest. It was still covered in blood. Well, there was no helping that. It would still work, they were in a warzone after all. They'd likely be worried if there was no blood. He put the vest on, grateful it covered the bandages that were across most of his chest and stomach. He hoped and prayed to whatever gods may exist that those wounds were still clean right now. He walked back over to Jill and grabbed her by the shoulders.

"Wait in here," he rasped, still a bit shaky. "I'll ring the bell and wait for the helicopter to come, just like we discussed. We'll go down there together, I'll take out the pilot and then we'll be gone. Okay?"

Jill nodded, bringing herself back to Earth. Right. Helicopter. They'd be gone soon. That thought actually brought back the comforting feelings she'd held before the little head explosion incident. She finally smiled, a real smile. "Right."

Chris nodded and ran for the ladder, scaling it in no time. Within moments Jill could hear the bell, loud and clear as it rang out through the tower and surrounding areas. She prayed that helicopter would be quick, as the sound would probably attrack everything within a one mile radius. She heard Chris slide back down the ladder and hit the ground with a thud.

"Let's go," he walked briskly past her, gun in hand. His face was grim and focused, almost scarily so. Was he actually scared? It was always hard to tell with him, he never let any emotion show. Jill followed him, actually jogging a bit to keep up. He strode purposefully down the stairs and through the main hall to the front entrance.

He pulled the chest away from the door and abruptly turned around, Jill jogging to catch up to him. Chris could feel his heartbeat thumping away at a crazy speed.

"I'll wait..." Jill began speaking, but found herself suddenly interrupted by Chris' lips on her own. Her eyes widened in shock, but she didn't fight it. Chris was holding the sides of her face, gripping as though life itself depended on it. He finally broke the liplock, that grim and determined look still on his face.

"Stay here," he finally said and walked out the door, closing it behind him. Jill stood looking at it, her mouth agape. Huh? What the hell had just happened?

Chris holstered his gun and looked skyward. The chopper, if still around, should be making itself known any moment now. He searched the skies with his keen eyes but could see nothing yet. He tried not to think about what had just happened. As Jill would always say, whatever happens, it happens. Deal with it. It just felt like the right thing to do.

He kept searching, and could faintly hear the sound of the rotors. He smiled. It was still there. It was coming for them. He moved further out into the light so it could see him. There, over in the distance, he could just see a speck. It really was coming. He resisted the urge to laugh out loud.

The chopper flew in closer, reaching him in no time. He waved up at it, giving his best friendly smile. The pilot waved back and pointed to a nearby clearing. He was going to land over there. Chris nodded. Game time. Soon it would all be over and they'd be home free.

Thumping suddenly shook the ground around him. Chris froze, his heartbeat rising again. He heard that ungodly growl and it was like everything around him just stopped. He turned his head just in time to see the Nemesis standing there, one big ass rocket launcher sitting on its shoulder.

It almost appeared to happen in slow motion, played out on a screen in front of him. He heard that sickeningly familiar explosion, saw the fire shooting out the back of the launcher and he instantly knew what was happening. He watched the path of the rocket, his face dropping as it was true. It hit the helicopter within moments, exploding into a large inferno in the sky.

"Nooooooo!" Chris screamed, letting his anger wash over him like never before. That had been their way out! This god damned fucking creature just wouldn't quit!

"S.T.A.R.S..." it muttered, dropping the launcher and thumping over towards Chris. Chris grabbed his grenade launcher and started firing, smiling a sadistic smile as the creature stumbled with each hit. He heard the door behind him open and Jill ran out.

"What's going..." her sentence trailed off at the sight before her. Chris ignored her and kept walking forward, firing shot after shot from his gun. The acid shells melted off even more of the Nemesis' clothes, its tentacles now exposed for all to see. He failed to notice the figure watching them keenly in the nearby trees, but he likely could have cared less anyway.

He kept firing until there was nothing but empty clicks. The gun was wasted. Chris threw it down and pulled out his Beretta. Little good it would do him, but he began firing anyway. The Nemesis, noticing it was no longer being hit with the little burning balls, leant down and charged. It aimed straight for him, Chris diving out of the way just in time.

"Shit!" Jill muttered, finally coming to her senses. She grabbed the magnum and threw it to Chris, pulling out her shotgun and taking aim. She began firing, each hit knocking the Nemesis back just a little more. She could feel her own anger rising as little bits of the helicopter still landed around them. She could guess what had happened. There was going to be no easy escape. Not anymore.

Bullets from Chris' magnum soon joined her shotgun shells, pumping the Nemesis full of lead. It threw its head back and let out another roar, charging for Chris again. He dived out of the way, landing in a roll and instantly firing at it again. The Nemesis, not one to be fazed, turned its attention to Jill instead. Before she even realised what had happened it had plunged a tentacle straight through her shoulder.

Jill wavered, suddenly dropping to her knees, everything around her seeming to halt. She thought she heard Chris screaming her name, but couldn't be sure. The world was spinning, fading in and out so fast. Everything seemed... so quiet... so dark... so quiet...

Jill slumped forward and hit the ground, Chris still screaming her name. He began firing madly at the Nemesis again, running over to his fallen comrade. He threw the empty magnum down and picked up her shotgun, pumping it over and over as the Nemesis had more and more chunks taken out of its flesh. He began roaring wildly again, apparently screaming in pain. That thought filled him with morbid joy as he kept shooting. Finally the thing gave up and stumbled into the trees. Chris considered chasing it, but there was something more important to tend to.

He ran back to Jill, grabbing her shoulders and turning her over. She was limp. The wound where the Nemesis had hit her wasn't bleeding, which worried him. It had already turned a deep, horrid shade of purple, he could see all the dead blood vessels through the skin spreading out towards her collar bone.

"Oh Jesus, Jill," he choked out. He looked around frantically, but knew there was going to be no help. He picked her up and rushed over to the entrance. The door was still open, but he kicked it closed as he went by. Oh crap, what the hell were they going to do now? This had never been in the plans. For the first time in a long time, Chris felt himself beginning to panic. Really panic. This was really not on the plans!

Jill remained limp in his arms as he ran. Where the hell to put her? What the hell to do? Chris looked frantically around. The chapel. He remembered it from his visits up here, it was secluded and could easily be kept secure. He kicked the nearby door open with his foot, not even stopping as it roughly smashed into the wall. He ran past the dead bodies, still staring at him with their empty eyes and turned through the dining room, heading towards the chapel.

He grabbed the handle and forced the door open, closing it behind him and running down the centre aisle. He placed Jill on the altar in the middle of the room.

"Fuck fuck fuck," he muttered. He ran a shaky hand through his hair, pacing back and forth. His mind was filled with a million thoughts at once, although one main theme stuck out. That fucking creature was going to die. Horribly. Slowly. Painfully.

He knelt down next to Jill and brushed some hair away from her face. She was breaking out into a sweat already, and that wound was getting more purple by the minute. His face dropped. He could guess what that meant. No, no no no...

"Fuck!" Chris screamed for the whole world to hear, his frustration becoming too much to bear. Jill was infected. Their ride was gone. Nemesis was still out there. What in the hell was he going to do now? 


	5. Bargains

Chris stuck his head around the door, looking up and down the empty street. At least it looked empty, nothing dragging its feet or scuttling along the walls. He stepped out and began running for the nearby hospital, for once hoping he actually would run into some zombies. He felt like killing something.

A few did stumble out at him as he neared the corner, Chris happily putting them out of their misery with a shot to the head. It was hardly satisfying though. He kept running and reached the hospital doors within a few moments, glad that, if anything, it was at least nearby. There would be no running around and leaving Jill behind for hours while he trekked the city. Actually, that thought was hardly comforting either. Nothing about this night had been.

Surveying the area, he kicked the doors in and stepped inside. He'd been here a few times during his stay in Raccoon City, enough to vaguely know his way around. Where to begin looking? He stopped and quickly scanned a nearby map on the wall. There was unlikely to be anything of use in the general wards; he suspected everything had been stripped by now anyway. The doctor's offices? Seemed as good a place as any to start. They were a few floors down if he recalled correctly; he'd once or twice seen some of the higher ups for S.T.A.R.S. related matters.

Chris hurried over to the elevator and took it a few floors down. He was surprised it was still working, although the blood smatters all over the walls were hardly inspiring. Elevator music played, making the environment seem even more surreal. It clunked and rattled the entire way down, making Chris think that perhaps he should have taken the stairs. He stepped out gratefully as it came to a halt and looked for some nearby, just in case. One could never be too safe.

The room itself looked like pretty much everything else they'd seen that night; messy, destroyed, some nice blood stains on the walls. Papers littered a nearby desk, trash covered the floor and much of the furniture was upturned. Nice.

Well, no use wasting time staring at the decor.

He began going over the nearby papers, but they were mostly useless, the filings of those clearly not in the know with Umbrella. How were they to know what they were dealing with? Or how to stop it?

He rifled through everything he could see, throwing the papers around in his hast, but these doctors had been just that; doctors. They were just reports on the strange body decay of victims, the odd congealing of the blood, theories on cannabilism and other random, wild guesses for the strange happenings around the place. He needed to find the office of the head honchos, maybe they'd have something more conclusive, give him some direction to look in.

Chris walked over to the nearby door but stopped with his hand just on the handle. Was that... voices? Yes, definitely voices. And they were getting louder, as though they'd just stepped into the room. Chris took out his gun and hid behind the wall. He could hear what they were saying.

"I'm just doing my job, Doctor Hursh. It is nothing personal, I'm sure you understand."

A Russian accent? Chris frowned. The other man was speaking at a frantic, excited pace.

"C.. c.. come on now, sur... surely we can reach some kind of arrangement? A.. anything you want, I swear!"

"Interesting... but no. I'm afraid your death is a lot more valuable than anything you can offer me. You know why I'm here, good doctor, we both work for Umbrella."

Chris frowned even more. The Russian continued his speech to the terrified doctor.

"And I'm afraid you have now outlived your usefulness. You just sent in your last report, no? They will not be expecting to hear from you for quite some time now. Plenty of time for you to meet with a little accident. A horrible tragedy, I am sure. And what a pity it will be."

The doctor began to sob, his breathing becoming more and more hitched.

"Do not worry about your assignments being abandoned, Doctor Hursh. They will be in good hands. And I am sure Umbrella will pay a handsome amount to get them from me, do you not agree?"

The doctor was still sobbing for his life. It was almost embarrassing to listen to.

"I... I... I have the antivirus!" he finally burst out, a last resort to save his life.

Chris' eyes widened. He pressed closer to the door, careful not to make his presence known.

The room filled with silence. The Russian was considering.

"Where is it?" he finally asked. No emotion in his voice, nothing to give him away. Just cold and hard, straight to the point.

"H.. h.. here," the other man's voice wavered. Chris guessed the doctor had been keeping it for himself, but what use was antivirus when you were dead? He had to be one of the head researchers here. Maybe the only one remaining. Chris needed that vial. Still, he bided his time and listened.

"How do I know this works?" the Russian finally asked after a moment's silence. Chris wanted to know too.

"It... it's the real deal," the doctor told him, still petrified for his life. "It's been tested, I... I tested it myself. You can put a call in if you don't believe me. But please... please, don't shoot me."

The man was almost crying, Chris could see the picture in his head. He was tempted to feel bad for him, but the feeling passed. The man worked for Umbrella, he had antivirus. He'd tested the damn thing and yet the city was still infected with zombies. Did the deaths of thousands mean nothing! Anger began to rise again.

"Well doctor, you have been very helpful to me today." Chris could almost feel the Russian smiling as he spoke. "I'm sorry we couldn't become better acquainted. Better luck on the other side, yes?"

Chris heard a gunshot and kicked the door open. He rolled in and fired off a shot as he did so, landing on his side on the floor. The almost-perfect marksman missed his target by a hairsbreadth, the two men aiming their guns at each other in a deadlock.

"You," the Russian sneered.

"And you," Chris glared at him. He had no idea who he was, but the man seemed to know him. The good doctor was lying in a puddle of his own blood next to him. Chris' eyes flashed to him and then back to the tall Russian. He was holding the antivirus in his hands.

"Want this for your little friend, yes?" The Russian held up the antivirus, smiling. He looked at it almost longingly, lovingly. "It is a pity she will be dead soon. We could have had such fun. I'm sure you would have enjoyed watching."

Chris' anger began to flare up again, he could feel himself tensing all over. He resisted the urge to jump the table and rip the man apart with his bare hands.

"Who are you?" he finally spat out, as if the words themselves were poisonous. The Russian gave him another sneer. "That is none of your concern, American. If I were you, I would be more worried about leaving this room in one piece."

"Oh I think I'll do just fine," Chris spat back, his eyes still glaring. He had to get that antivirus, and make sure he did nothing to jeapordise that. Jill's life was depending on it. His eyes quickly flashed to the Russian's nametag, and for the first time he noticed the outfit. He was a merc. An Umbrella merc. He was wearing the same vest Chris was now wearing.

Ginovaef. What the hell was he doing killing doctors then? And Umbrella's own?

"You work for Umbrella?" Chris finally asked, his gun still pointed at Ginovaef's face. It didn't so much as wobble. Sadly, neither did his.

The Russian laughed. "Amusing. I would be tempted to ask you the same question, comrade, if I did not already know you that you do not. Do not feel bad about that vest you are wearing either, for he was a coward."

Chris self consciously looked down and then back up. Ginovaef was still looking at him as though this entire ordeal was amusing him greatly. "Cowards do not deserve to live. And I'm sorry that our meetings must finally end like this, but that is how it must be."

Recognition flashed across Chris' face as he finally realised who this man was. Their stalker from the rooftops. An Umbrella merc. But not any old merc, this guy looked to be playing for himself, and now had the one thing Chris needed. His eyes flashed to the antivirus again.

"You want this badly, yes?" he grinned, wiggling it between his fingertips. "Pity I should drop it, what would your pretty little girlfriend do then?"

"You wouldn't live past the moment it touched the floor," Chris glared at him, the anger rising even more. He knew he had to control it, it wasn't his life that depended on that medicine. Ginovaef raised an eyebrow. "Perhaps. But it still wouldn't save your young woman."

Chris sat there, weighing up his options. This couldn't continue. Each moment he sat here and bantered with this insane psycho Jill was getting worse. Not to mention it had been hard enough to leave her behind anyway with the Nemesis still around. No amount of boarding the door up was going to stop that thing if it found her again.

"Sorry, 'comrade'," Chris began, "but the only person who's dying here today is you." Chris quickly reaimed and took fire at Ginovaef's hand, the one holding the antivirus. He dove over the desk and hit the ground, catching the antivirus just before it hit the tiles. The big Russian stumbled back, holding onto his bleeding, gunshot hand. He was swearing various obscenities in Russian.

He finally looked back up at Chris, his eyes full of murder. He took out a dagger and threw it in one smooth motion at his head. Chris quickly rolled out of the way, straight onto to his feet as the dagger implanted into the ground. He pointed his gun at the Russian and started backing towards the door.

"If I were you, I'd pray we don't meet again," Chris told him, grabbing for the handle. Despite his pain, the Russian smiled at him. A pained smile, but a knowing smile. "Comrade, I really do not think that will be a problem. Enjoy your medicine. And do not worry, I will make sure your girlfriend gets the proper treatment she deserves. And then some."

Chris looked at him, confused and angry. Ginovaef was moving towards the other door, planning for his own escape. What the hell was that supposed to mean? The Russian quickly opened the door and Chris took a shot, the bullet just missing his head and ricocheting off the wall. "Shit!"

Chris opened his door and ran for the elevator, hitting the button for the first floor again. He shook his head. What was that all about? If they encountered him again, he would make sure it was their last time. But he had the antivirus now, even if by an incredible stroke of luck, that was all that mattered.

He felt himself getting ansty, every moment an eternity as the elevator slowly rose. The music was maddening. It finally dinged and the doors opened to the main foyer. Chris quickly ran out, the excitement finally starting to build. He almost missed the Hunter aiming right for his head.

"Oh fuck," Chris dropped to the ground, the creature's gigantic claws swiping where he had just been. It let out a disappointed screech at missing its prey. Chris fired instantly into its belly, green blood flying everywhere. He kept firing, knowing the strength of the creatures and the amount required to kill them. It tumbled back into the nearby wall and let out another ear piercing shriek as bullets riddled its body. Chris fired one last round into its head and it finally dropped to the ground, green blood spreading out beneath it.

Chris remained on the ground a few more moments, breathing hard. That had been close. Way too many close calls tonight. He stood up on shaky feet and began heading for the door again.

A loud beeping nearby caught his attention. What now?

"Shit," his face dropped. This night was getting better and better by the second. He kicked the front doors open and ran for his life, ignoring his now body-wide pain.

A bomb. A god damn fucking bomb. He could guess who had put it there as well, and why he'd been so eager to leave rather than stick around and fight. Ginovaef. That god damned Russian.

Chris hit the deck moments before he felt explosive debri flying over his head. The hospital exploded behind him, a blast of air washing over him so hot he felt that his own skin was on fire. Level after level crumbled, collapsing on top of each other. That wasn't the work of one bomb; the entire place had been wired. That psychopathic freak.

Chris got back up and started running again, avoiding the various things hitting the ground around him. He felt in his breast pocket and was relieved the vial hadn't been crushed. Screw the hospital, he needed to get back to Jill. He jumped over a few more flaming wrecks and turned the corner for the Clock Tower, which he could see up ahead.

A few more zombies stumbled out of the woodwork, perhaps drawn to the explosion. It didn't matter; Chris shot them in the head without missing a step. They hit the ground with dull thuds behind him. He reached the back door to the Tower and quickly ran inside, slamming it shut behind him. He volleyed over some new wreckage that had likely occured from the explosion and ran straight for the chapel. He was so close now.

A familiar scream rang through the air. Chris turned and saw more claws coming for his face, a body hitting him square in the chest and sending the two of them flying to the ground. It was the dead merc from the corner, newly risen and looking mighty red in the face. Another damn Crimson Head. A claw scratched at his face, leaving deep gashes across his cheek. Chris held it at bay while the other hand tried to choke him.

"Not... today..." he choked, struggling to get his Beretta under its chin. The thing's teeth were knashing and he could smell its putrid breath. It was disgusting, making his stomach rise.

He finally jammed his gun up in its neck, his vision starting to swim from lack of air. He closed his eyes and pulled the trigger, blowing the zombie's brains out. It stopped struggling and dropped on him, limp.

Chris lay there a moment, catching his breath and regaining his vision. He rolled it off and wiped his face, cringing. No time to stop and think about it, Jill was waiting in the next room. He shook his head to clear his thoughts and continued on, the dead body forgotten behind him.

He pushed the furniture he had used to barricade the chapel door away and ran down the centre aisle, his heart pumping in his chest. Jill's body was still lying there, unconscious. The wound on her shoulder had turned a deeper shade of purple, and was still spreading. Chris placed a kiss on her forehead and pulled out the vial of antivirus.

"Here we go," he took a deep breath and uncorked it. The thought crossed his mind that he would very likely need this antivirus himself, but there was nothing to be done about that. He leant down next to Jill, lifting her head up and resting it in the crook of his elbow. He emptied the vial into her mouth, dropping it to the floor as Jill involuntarily swallowed.

He looked up at the roof. It was decorated with various religious paintings, although most of it had faded away with time. His heart was thumping. How long would it take to notice the effects? Was he already too late? Was the antivirus a fake? So many questions, even more answers. He shut his brain off.

Silence filled the room. Objects continued dropping outside from the burning hospital, making the occasional clash and bang. Blood ran down Chris' face from the gashes in his cheek, trickling down his neck. All part and parcel of the territory when it came to Umbrella really.

Fatigue began to set in as he sat there, the pain enveloping his body as he finally allowed it long enough to sit and rest. Everything hurt, from his ankle to his chest to his face. Chris couldn't recall ever being in so much pain. It didn't matter though; at least he was still up and able to move. More than he could say for Jill. And all because he'd been too slow to react, too slow to stop that damn creature.

His anger had clouded his judgement, impaired him to the best course of action; to run. He'd told Jill himself they simply couldn't fight the beast, but in his anger he'd decided to attack it. Now Jill was paying the price for his stupidity.

Chris sighed. Plan B was gone, so it was back to Plan A. What had Plan A been anyway? Escape via the north roads? Up here was no better than where they'd came from. The army had moved in quicker than he expected, there were signs of battle all over the place.

Escape via the air was still the best option, despite their last one getting blown out the sky. There were some factories nearby that he remembered from his research, high tech Umbrella stuff being conducted practically right under the people's noses. They looked abandoned from the outside, but they most definitely were not. They also had helicopters in place for situations like this, standard procedure.

It was as good as anything right now.

Chris looked back down at Jill, her eyes still closed. The wound... was it looking better? Chris frowned and leant in closer to see. It certainly looked less harsh than before, but it could have just been his eyes. His heart skipped a beat nevertheless. The virus was quick to work, maybe the antivirus was too.

He lifted Jill up a bit further on his lap and looked at her shoulder, his eyes frantically scanning, looking, praying for signs of the infection dying away. Anything, even just a bit, something to give him that hope back.

A few minutes passed. He kept his eyes trained. Jill's breathing was coming in deeper bursts, and he thought he saw her eyes flicker at one point. Yes, the wound was definitely beginning to look better; the colour had gone down, and the infection had decreased in size.

For the first time in quite some time, Chris smiled, ignoring the pain it caused. Jill's eyes suddenly flew open, unfocused. Her hands dug into his legs as her senses came flooding back. He tried to restrain a laugh. It had worked. That doctor hadn't been lying just to save his damned life.

Jill sat up, taking in a huge breath of air and coughing from the shock of it. She felt druggy, out of place, everything seemed loud but quiet at the same time. Her vision swam in and out, everything blurring together. She leant back, head spinning, and felt herself pressed again something. She quickly turned, her vision remaining long enough to allow her to see who it was; Chris Redfield. A god damn smiling Chris Redfield.

Her vision swam again and Jill fell back, Chris grabbing ahold of her. "Hey hey, sit back," he whispered, not bothering to restrain the smile from his face any longer. He grabbed around her waist, letting her rest her head back against his shoulder. "Just rest. It's all gonna be fine. Just fine."

It really would be. He'd make sure of it from here on out. 


	6. Into the Cold

"You sure you're feeling okay?" Chris asked for the umpteenth time that night, placing a hand on Jill's back. "Yes, I'm fine," she frowned, a pained look on her face. After the explosion at the hospital things things had been suprisingly quiet. They had rested up at the Clock Tower for a while before Jill insisted they get up and leave; and she wouldn't take no for an answer, much to Chris' chagrin.

So here they were. Both limping down the middle of street and heading towards the Umbrella factories. The look of them would probably have been comical on any other day. A tall man in combat jeans and a vest, holding his side and covered almost head to toe in blood, and a young woman in a mini skirt and tube top, also covered in blood, holding her banged up shoulder and looking terrified at just about anything that made a sound. On any other day...

They walked on silently through the Raccoon Park, looking a lot quieter and empty than it usually did this time of year. Of course, that was only to be expected, it's not like it was prime picnic season. Wind rustled the trees above their heads, causing Jill to shiver in the cold. Her jumper was long gone, torn to use as bandages. It was freezing.

Chris removed his vest and wordlessly handed it to her. Jill raised an eyebrow at him; it was a look he'd grown exceedingly familiar with lately.

"Don't take it as some macho gesture or anything, okay? You're ill, just take the damn thing." He didn't want any argument over it.

Jill looked at him a moment longer before her face softened and she accepted it. It wouldn't keep most of the wind out, but it would help. Chris rubbed his cold nose and took out his handgun. They were starting to get perilously low on bullets, they'd be doing a lot of running soon and not much else if they didn't find new supplies. He pushed the nearby rusted gate open and stepped into a new area, Jill just behind him. He turned and smiled at her. It was a graveyard.

"Fantastic," Jill's face screwed up. Chris kept smiling and began to slowly weave his way through the tombstones, his gun trained at the ground. The rain that had briefly let up was starting to fall again, causing him to shiver also. Rain drops pattered on the ground around him, turning the dirt to mud.

Jill removed her recovered shotgun from her back and took aim at nothing in particular, waiting for something, anything to burst forth. The pain in her shoulder was still throbbing, but she wouldn't tell Chris that. He'd just worry himself into another fit. Besides, it was likely just from the cold anyway.

"Who puts a graveyard in a park anyway?" Jill could hear Chris muttering to himself just up ahead, his eyes still scanning nearby graves as he walked past them. She smiled. They hadn't mentioned anything about the kiss since it had happened. What was there to say anyway? Hey, wanna go another round? There's a little shack up ahead, want a quick bang? No, that discussion was something best left for later on.

A shack. Supplies.

"Chris," Jill yelled out, running to catch up to him; he'd covered some distance while she'd been lost in her thoughts. He turned around, still unconsciously holding his side. "A shack, they might have supplies," she pointed past Chris' head to a small dwelling a few hundred metres away. He followed her line of sight and smiled.

"Come on, let's go."

The ground itself suddenly began to shake underneath them, and Jill felt bony fingers wrapping around her ankles. She looked down; a rapidly decomposing corpse was rising for his first snack in quite some time.

"Shit!" she screamed, trying desperately to kick it off. She flinched as its head suddenly exploded in front of her, all movement stopping. She felt Chris grab her by the arm. "Let's go!"

He began pulling her along, hurdling over nearby tombstones. For a guy that was so injured, he was still damn nimble. A few more badly decomposed zombies rose in front of them, their hands fumbling wildly for their feet and ankles. Chris put a bullet in one's head while Jill blew another's off.

"How are they rising?" Jill screamed to Chris, trying to keep up with his pace. He shot another hand as it rose out of the mud and tried to grab him.

"Must be the rain," he yelled back, the downfall getting harder and faster, the sound almost deafening. He shot one more rising zombie before they cleared the cemetary and hit a clear patch of land in-between. The shack was just up ahead. Jill turned back and saw more and more bodies rising behind them. Was nowhere safe?

They covered the distance wordlessly and hit the small dwelling. The door was locked; of course. Chris frowned and hit it with his fist, but it didn't budge. The entire place was made of heavy, thick wood. He'd likely break his own hand before he even budged the door.

Jill looked back to the cemetary. The bodies had fully risen and were wandering around lifelessly, much like those she'd seen at the mansion. Couldn't they sense them standing there? She shivered almost uncontrollably in the rain. She jumped as she felt hands on her naked shoulders.

"I'm gonna check around back and see if there's another way in. Just wait here under the door until I get back, okay? It should shield you from some of the rain."

Jill nodded and watched as Chris ran, turning the corner and shortly disappearing from sight. She looked back to the graveyard again. Nothing was coming towards them. Yay? She hastily reloaded the shotgun anyway, just in case, and moved under the frame of the door. It really didn't help much.

"Well well, this is romantic, no?"

Jill froze, the feeling of cold steel suddenly pressed hard against her throat. That was definitely not Chris. She resisted the urge to yell for him. How the hell had someone managed to sneak up on her? And where the hell had he even come from, for that matter?

"Do not worry about your boyfriend, I suspect he will be busy out the back for a little while," the man whispered in her ear, smiling. "The gun," he said more pointedly, his tone dropping almost to anger. Jill held it up shakily, both from the cold and her rising rage.

"Who are you?" she finally asked through gritted teeth, trying to look at the man without moving a muscle. The knife dug into her neck a little deeper, almost nicking the skin. The man gave a small, amused laugh.

"You S.T.A.R.S., always straight to the point. Your boyfriend asked me that very same question not that long ago. Sadly, we did not meet under the best of circumstances. I am surprised he is still alive. I see he also gave you my antidote. How lovely."

Jill's anger began to rise again. "Who... are... you...?" she asked once again.

"Nicholai. Nicholai Ginovaef," he answered, a leer sitting on his lips. He leaned in closer and looked Jill over, keeping the knife pressed tightly to her neck. "I can see why your boyfriend fought so hard for you," he smiled, a leecherous look in his eyes.

Jill's heartbeat began to hammer in her throat. Where the hell was Chris? She didn't even have any knifes hidden anywhere, and this Nicholai was holding her shotgun.

"What do you want?" she finally asked, trying her best to keep the tone neutral. It wasn't working.

"What do I want?" he laughed, pulling the knife in and dragging Jill in closer to his body. "Your boyfriend stole my antivirus. He tried to kill me. I think that is more than enough for me to get some payback, no? And I think I will begin with you."

Nicholai shoved Jill hard against the door and moved in front of her, still pressing the knife to her throat. Her eyes burned with anger and she stared defiantly at him, almost daring him to do something. Nicholai looked down at her vest and then back up, smiling. "So valiant of your man to give you his only clothing. That is the sign of a true gentlemen, of course."

Jill continued to glare at him, resisting the urge to do something stupid. "Do you have a point?"

Nicholai pressed the knife in just a bit harder, finally breaking the skin. He smiled again. He had a point alright. His eyes narrowed, his demeanour changing completely. Jill's eyes quickly moved to his hand, the one holding her shotgun. There was a large wound on his palm. She looked back up at him, a plan formulating in her mind. He noticed the movement and suddenly threw the gun away, out of her reach. Jill's jaw clenched.

"Nice try, but no. But do not worry. I will make sure your boyfriend can still identify the body."

A loud bang went off and Nicholai suddenly dropped to the ground, holding his arm in pain. The knife dropped from his hands and Jill quickly picked it up, backing up a few steps and holding it out in front of her. Her heartbeat was still hammering, and she was still shivering, both from the cold and the fear. Footsteps ran up behind her; it was Chris. He brushed past her shoulder and stood in front of Nicholai, aiming his gun at his head. His arm was shaking.

"Give me..." his voice almost cracked under the strain of keeping it together, "give me one damn good reason why I shouldn't blow your useless head off right now?" His entire body was shaking with anger.

Nicholai was still holding his shot and bleeding arm with his gunshot hand. He glared at Chris with pure evil in his eyes.

"You would not shoot a wounded man," he tried to smile, but failed miserably. Chris' arm still shook with rage, but he kept the gun aimed at Nicholai's head. Jill remained standing behind him, the knife clutched to her chest.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Chris replied. Rain poured down on the two men as they once again faced off, this time their positions reversed. Chris shook his head as rain ran down his face and into his eyes. His hair stuck to his head while his eyes burned with anger. He'd found an entrance out back, but it had been boarded up. He'd come to ask Jill for help and instead found Ginovaef with a knife to her neck. Considering his current mood, it really wasn't the best thing he could have done.

Nicholai's eyes narrowed again and his leg suddenly swept out, collecting Chris around the ankles and sending him sprawling onto the wet grass. He was up within seconds and running, holding his wounded arm as he did so. Jill ran over and knelt down to see if Chris was okay; he aimed his gun towards Nicholai but couldn't see him. He was already gone, disappearing into the rain. Chris stood up and took a few steps, firing a bullet blindly, but it was useless. "Fuck!"

He brushed some of the wet grass off his legs and turned back to Jill, suddenly embracing her. His arms tightened around her shoulders and pulled her in close. She didn't fight it. She huddled in closer, trying to get some warmth from the freezing rain. That had been far too close for comfort. With every breath in his body Chris could feel his anger rising, that famous Redfield Rage that often lead to him doing stupid things. Stupid, uncontrollable things.

"Come on," Chris whispered, resting his chin on the top of her head. "I found a way in, let's get out of the rain."

The cabin itself was fairly sparse. Chris lit up a nearby lantern and handed it to Jill, who was still rubbing her arms from the cold... and shock. It looked like a caretaker's shack. There was a rocking chair in the corner, some books lying around, empty beer bottles, some fire pokers. The room was dark and damp, but at least it wasn't raining.

Chris opened the nearby cupboard doors and began pulling everything out, hoping against hope there'd be some bullets. He went through each, dropping things on the floor, trying to blank the blinding anger that was pounding against the back of his head. More books. Old cans of food. Magazines and other rubbish. The last was bare except for a few boxes of shotgun shells and another handgun. He finally smiled. You didn't live in Raccoon City unless you owned a gun. Or several guns.

"Jill, over here."

Jill ran over and Chris handed her the shotgun shells, keeping the handgun for himself. He took the lantern and quickly checked over the rest of the room, but it was pretty much useless. Nothing of interest unless he felt like reading a few trashy romance novels. Which he didn't.

"What are we going to do about Nicholai?" Jill finally piped up, her face uncertain. She'd actually been too scared to ask Chris about it outside, and too shocked to give chase herself, but the meeting had shaken her, more than she'd like to admit. He snuck up on her so easily and gotten the upperhand before she even realised he was there. If it hadn't of been for Chris...

"Don't worry about him. If we see him again, I'll take care of it. I promise." His voice was emotionless.

Jill didn't look quite so sure, but nodded her head anyway. If she had her way, she'd be the one taking care of things. And he'd be in no state to escape either.

"Come on, the factories are just over the bridge, let's get going." Chris hoped they'd bump into Nicholai along the way. He wanted some revenge of his own. Some slow, painful revenge.

The duo exited the small shack and began in the same direction they'd seen Nicholai flee. Chris had to believe he knew the same thing they did; was maybe even waiting for them there, one final ambush. His mission had gone awry, it was time to clean up the mess. Only he'd never get that far, Chris would make sure of it. His next shot wouldn't aim to injure, it would aim to kill.

They covered the distance to the bridge silently, the only sound the pouring rain around them. It was still unrelenting and freezing cold. Chris' bandages were soaked through, turning a dull grey against his skin. Jill held onto her shotgun as though life itself depended on it. The way this night was going, it really did.

The factories finally came into sight, just over the small bridge hanging over the river. They were simply large, grey buildings with no distinctive markings other than the odd graffiti. Not even any carparks. The perfect, abandoned lot. Prime land to conduct illegal activities.

Chris stepped onto the bridge first, holding carefully onto the side. It wasn't very stable, and in the rain it was slippery as ice. Jill shortly followed. They edged carefully, slowly across in the pouring downfall.

-thump-

-thump-

Chris looked up at the sound. No fucking way.

-thump-

A shape emerged in the rain ahead of them, shaking the ground with each footstep. Chris held an arm out to keep Jill behind him.

"S.T.A.R.S..."

The Nemesis stomped onto the rickety bridge, swaying the entire thing as it did so. Chris quickly grabbed onto Jill's arm, holding to the railing for dear life with the other. It was too much weight, the thing was going to snap.

The Nemesis raised its rocket launcher onto its shoulder, the movement as natural as if it were going to eat a piece of toast. Chris' eyes shot open. It was planning to shoot them right then and there!

"Jill..."

"Yes?"

"Hold on."

Chris let go of the railing and jumped over, dragging Jill right behind him. The Nemesis fired its rocket with an explosive bang. He could feel the blast of hot air behind him as it zoomed past where they'd just been standing, the explosion breaking the eerie silence of the surrounding areas. They continued falling, heading for the river as the rocket finally hit something nearby and exploded, showering them with debri as they hit the water.

Chris rose first, coughing and gasping for air. Jill broke the surface next to him a few moments later, doing much the same. Debri continued to rain down on them, the water cold as ice on their already chilled skin. They swam for the nearby bank and climbed on the rocks for a moment to recover. The Nemesis was still standing on the bridge. What was it doing? Reloading?

There was no time to waste, Chris didn't want to know what it was doing. He grabbed Jill's arm and dragged her up, running for the nearby sewer pipe. It led into the factories just above. They needed to get out of the sight of that creature; just long enough to find a damn helicopter and be gone.

Jill continued coughing, short of breath from the fall. They stopped for a moment and she leant against the wall, trying to catch her breath. Chris ran a hand through his wet hair, shaking it out, pacing the wet sewer floor in front of her.

"We sure are popular today," Jill coughed, her voice dry. The raining outside echoed into the tunnel, making it seem even wetter and emptier than it already was. "And are we there yet?" she gave a small, sarcastic, tired smile.

Chris stopped pacing and leant against the opposite wall. The place stank to high heavens, but at least they weren't getting bombed... or held at knife point. He checked to see if his gun was still in the holster, grateful when it was. He looked up at Jill, furiously rubbing her arms, trying to get some feeling back. She was still shivering, her lips quivering from the cold.

He crossed the small distance between them and embraced her again, rubbing her arms himself to try and generate some heat. She shivered against his chest, pulling her arms up against her own and trying to take up as little space as possible. At this rate, if she didn't die from some miraculous comeback of the T-Virus, she was going to get god damn pnuemonia and die of something 'normal' instead. Not that it would be awful, of course, but she didn't really feel like dying today.

"Chris?" she asked against his chest, still too cold to even look up.

"Hmm?"

"Thank you."

Chris smiled. Since when had Jill ever said thank you to him? To anyone? She never said thank you. He kissed the top of her head.

"Don't worry about it. But what do you say we get out of this smelly sewer for a bit?"

Jill smiled against his chest. "You mean that's not you?"

"Funny. Very funny, Valentine. Come on, let's go." 


	7. Countdown

Notes: Hooray, we're finished! To say this story turned out differently than I was expecting would be an understatement, but that's just the way things go I guess. This chapter is also a wee bit violent, but I'm sure nothing you can't handle if you've actually played the games anyway :p So this is my first finished 'long' fic, give me your thoughts on how you think it went. Thanks.

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Much to the chagrin of both Chris and Jill, the Umbrella factories were full of zombies. Apparently being smart wasn't on the job requirements at Umbrella. Rotting scientists roamed the hallways and labs, looking for fresh meat to feast on. Unfortunately for them, Chris wasn't in the mood for becoming someone's dinner tonight.

The sewers had led straight up into the labs themselves, supposedly a quick getaway if needs be. Of course, these scientists were either too stupid or too arrogant to realise there was a problem, and so they'd all died up here. Not that Chris shed a tear for them or anything. Each shot to the head was as satisfying as the last.

The factories however were huge. They'd begun with searching all the nearby rooms, happily turning up some bullets but very little else. The place was a maze, just how Umbrella liked it; hallway after hallway, door after door. They needed a map, or they'd likely still be searching days later. They had to get to the nearest helipad, and pray there was still a chopper there.

Jill ran back in from a nearby room, holding out some more bullets. The labs were thankfully warmer than the freezing cold rain outside, but the drawback to that was the stench. The entire place stunk of dead, decomposing bodies. It was almost gag-worthy. Chris took the bullets and put them into his pocket.

"We need a map," he stated simply. He stood up and shot another zombie that happened to wander by. It dropped to the ground with a dull thud.

"You don't say," Jill replied, reloading her shotgun. Although Captain Obvious was right. As usual. Wandering around zombie-filled halls wasn't as fun as it sounded. "Are the computer's working?" she asked, pumping the gun and putting the rest of the shells away. Chris shook his head, still thinking.

"Well look, we've already covered most of this part of the building, we just have to press on. No use sitting on our asses and waiting for Nemesis to come get us."

She was already off and entering the next room before Chris could even reply. Well, nice that she was feeling better at least. He shook his head and followed her.

The search for a map continued on, rather fruitlessly Chris thought. As this rate they'd find their way out before finding the damn map they needed. More and more zombies hit the ground as they worked their way through; Chris considered it 'cleaning'. They wouldn't be here long enough to greet the many Crimson Heads that would likely rise from his massacre. He shuddered to think of it.

At least Jill seemed back to her old self, he thought happily. The dank, smelly labs were probably an improvement to the freezing cold they'd faced outside, and her mood had picked up since she'd been able to feel her limbs again. He was just damn glad that antivirus had worked, and tried to push all other negative thoughts out of his head.

"Chris! Got it!"

He looked up, drawn from his thoughts to the sound of Jill's voice up ahead. She came running out of one of the rooms waving a piece of paper. The map. The god damn map. She pressed it up against the wall beside him, pointing to the little H symbol. She looked up at him and smiled.

"Not that far away."

He smiled back and quickly kissed her on the lips, feeling the first real pang of anticipation since their disastrous visit to the Clock Tower. "Well what are we waiting for, let's go!"

Chris ran off while Jill folded the map, watching him jog up the hallway. The feeling of having him around, especially tonight, it had been indescribable. He'd put his life on the line for her, multiple times, and had never once complained about it, never once asked for any kind of sympathy or even any thanks. There was so much to be said, but at the same time very little. She'd always loved that. She put the map away and ran to catch up to him.

"Just through to the next hallway right?" Chris asked as Jill joined him in the next room. It was another lab, broken computers and blood smears all over the walls. No zombies though. Strange. The overhead light flickered, buzzing as it did. Jill nodded in agreement. "Just a few more doors. We should be out of here in no time."

'And hopefully leaving this nightmare behind us...' she thought.

"Well well. How cosy."

Chris froze in his tracks. He knew that accent. Knew it well. His entire body began to fill with rage. He slowly turned and saw Nicholai standing there, a gun to the back of Jill's head. Her eyes were wide with fear. It was the second time that night he'd gotten the drop on them.

"What the fuck do you want?" Chris asked through gritted teeth, restraining that familiar feeling he got whenever he saw the Russian's face. He must have been hiding in the room when they'd entered, probably behind one of the large cupboards lining the walls. Great. Just bloody great. Would the fun never end?

"Well, your girlfriend for a start. We have unfinished business, she and I," Nicholai grinned, pushing the gun into her head a bit harder. "You are welcome to watch, of course. I am sure it will be most enjoyable..."

"Over my dead body."

"That can be arranged."

Nicholai quickly moved the gun from Jill's head towards Chris, firing a shot without hesitation. He dropped to the ground as it narrowly zoomed past his ear, hitting the wall behind them. Jill took the opportunity to escape, elbowing Nicholai in the stomach and running as Chris grabbed his knife and threw it, landing squarely in Nicholai's shoulder.

"Jill, get out of here!" he screamed, quickly running over to Nicholai and tackling him to the ground, sending his gun flying out of reach.

"But..."

"Go!" he screamed back, grabbing onto the hilt of his dagger and pushing it in deeper. "I'll catch up, just go!"

Jill reluctantly did so, closing the door behind her and running down the hallway. Chris could handle himself, of that she was certain. So why did she feel so horrible?

Nicholai grunted in pain as Chris pushed his knife in even further, the large blade undoubtedly cutting through many painful nerves. He hid the pain well though, as only a trained soldier could. Chris quickly yanked it back out, smiling as Nicholai finally did let out a scream. Blood began pouring out of his shoulder, his breathing beginning to rapidly rise. His eyes flicked from the bleeding wound to Chris' murderous eyes above him.

"You should have left us alone while you still had the chance, 'comrade'," Chris grinned sarcastically, quickly stabbing the knife into the other shoulder. Nicholai let out another scream, grabbing onto Chris' wrists and trying to pull the knife back out. Chris remained there, letting his anger and rage wash over him. One of them was not leaving this room alive, and he was going to make sure that Nicholai knew that.

He finally yanked the knife back out and pressed a knee hard down on his chest. Their faces were inches apart, both eyes blazing anger at each other.

"Why have you been tracking us?"

Nicholai continued glaring at him, his breathing rising and falling more and more rapidly. Chris dug his knee in even further. "Why!"

"Combat data!" Nicholai finally yelled, exhaling from the great weight pressing down on his chest. His eyes held more, but Chris was satisified with that. It was what he'd suspected, he just wanted confirmation.

"Have you filed your report yet?"

Nicholai continued staring at him, flinching as Chris dug his knee in even further.

"No," he grunted.

Chris pretended to look sad for a moment. "Pity, that. I'm sure Umbrella would have rewarded you handsomely for it," he grinned that sadistic smile again.

"Your first mistake was to work for Umbrella," Chris began, pressing his knife against Nicholai's throat. He looked up at him, anger still blazing, but for the first time that night Chris also noticed fear. Good. Fear was good.

"Your second mistake was trying to harm Jill. I don't take kindly to people trying to kill her, you see? But your third mistake..." Chris laughed, shaking his head, "your third mistake was just not leaving us the hell alone."

Nicholai recognised the madness in Chris' eyes at that very moment; it was the look many soliders got shortly before they either went mad, or started killing. He wasn't stupid, he could guess which look it was.

"Given the chance, comrade, I would do it all again," he smiled through the pain burning in his shoulders, and the weight pressing down on his chest. Chris nodded, as though it had all been abundantly clear anyway.

"And that, my friend, is why I have to do this," Chris slit the dagger across his throat, slowly standing up and to the side as Nicholai grabbed at the wound, blood gushing out over his fingers. Chris' breathing was calm, even. The rage in his eyes began to die down as he realised it was all over. It was done. He'd never bother them again. He'd never bother Jill again. And Umbrella would never get their stupid 'data'.

Chris walked over and grabbed Nicholai's gun. It was still loaded. He walked back over and stood over his body again, pointing the gun downwards. With the amount of bloodloss, he wasn't likely to live much longer anyway. "Give my regards to Umbrella, and those you've murdered along the way."

Jill stopped in her tracks, a gunshot going off behind her. She turned and watched, waiting. The echo died off around her, filling the hall with silence once again. She continued watching, waiting, praying for Chris to come through that door. She removed her shotgun and held it forward anyway... just in case. Her heart began pumping faster and faster, the silence becoming deafening. "Come on Chris..."

The door opened. She readied the gun. Chris stepped out, wiping blood off his knife. Her entire body relaxed and she smiled. "Chris!"

He looked up and smiled back, before his face suddenly dropped and he began sprinting towards her. "Fuck, Jill! Move!"

She frowned and then felt, rather than saw, why. The floor was rumbling. She turned in time to see the Nemesis come charging at her, his tentacles smashing into the small hallway around him. Her eyes opened wide and she ran for the nearest door, frantically pulling on the handle. It opened and she threw herself in, trying to close the door behind her. But it was too late. The Nemesis flung it open and stepped inside, closing it behind him.

Jill fell to the floor, the creature towering above her. She noticed Chris reaching for the door and banging on it, screaming things she couldn't hear. The door was locked... and sealed. Fantastic.

Jill scrambled backwards, quickly getting to her feet and surveying the surroundings. What the hell was this place? There was a large hole in the middle of the floor, leading into a pit of some kind. It was filled with... acid? It was still bubbling.

Her face dropped as she realised where she was; the 'clean up' room. Easy disposal for anything that got out of hand... including people. Pipes ran along the walls and up across the roof, and the flooring itself was just grating.

The Nemesis took a few steps forward, its tentacles flailing wildly now it no longer had a jacket to hide them. Jill quickly fired a shot off, taking a chunk out of the creature's shoulder. It barely even registered it had been hit. It kept pressing forward, pushing Jill back into the wall.

"S.T.A.R.S..."

Jill fired another shot, aiming for its leg. It blew another chunk off. "I'm getting really fucking tired of hearing that!" she screamed, taking another shot at its other leg. It stumbled only briefly and still kept coming. It was nearly right on her.

Jill frantically looked around, she needed something, anything to distract it so she could get out of the corner. She spotted the pipes. Perfect.

Turning her gun, she fired at the pipe valve right as the Nemesis stepped in front of it. The metal flew off, hitting it in the head and blasting out hot steam. The creature roared and stumbled back, giving Jill enough space to run under it's arms and back over to the door. She fumbled at the handle again, Chris still banging on the viewing window. It was still locked.

Chris was suddenly pointing behind her, and Jill ducked as she felt large fists swinging above her head, pounding into the door. She ran over to the other side of the room, ducking and dodging again as the Nemesis charged at her, running straight into the wall. It hit it so hard it actually cracked. Jill fired at another pipe, once again blasting the creature in hot gas.

It began stumbling around wildly, grabbing its head and roaring. Jill fired at its knee, causing it to stumble right next to the open pit. Just where she wanted it. Jill quickly ran behind the creature and fired into the back of its legs, multiple shots from close range. Not even the Nemesis could withstand shotgun shells from near point blank and it toppled over, roaring all the while as it fell into the pit. It thrashed and flailed, acid spitting up everywhere.

Jill quickly pressed back into the wall, heart pounding in her chest. Tentacles reached out of the pit, trying to grab at her ankles. One successfully wrapped around her foot, sending Jill flying to the floor and rapidly dragging her towards the open pit.

"Oh shit!"

There was nothing nearby to grab onto; instead, she fired the shotgun again, cutting the tentacle off. She quickly scrambled back against the wall, grabbing the thing around her ankle and tossing it aside. Her breathing continued to rise and fall in rapid succession, her head pounding.

The roar from the Nemesis was almost deafening, the thrashing frantic and mad. Acid continued to spit up around the place, landing in various spots on the floor around her. Tentacles smashed into the floor and walls, trying to grab onto the pipes and grating to drag itself out. Jill fired another shot off, breaking off a tentacle that had managed to get a grip. Finally after a few moments it began to die down, the movements slowing and the creature's screams dying in its throat.

Jill remained standing here, vague banging from the door ringing in her eyes. Was the thing really dead? She edged over slowly, ever so slowly to the edge of the pit. She aimed her gun down, waiting for something to move, some last final spasm. Maybe to drag her into the final abyss; she wouldn't be surprised.

But there was no movement. It was over. Finally over. They were free.

Jill walked slowly back over to the door, still keeping an eye on the pit. She tried the handle again, but it was still locked. There was a swipe card slot on the wall next to it. She looked back up; Chris was pointing again, to the corner of the room behind her. Jill looked over but couldn't see anything. She shrugged, her face confused. Chris kept pointing, miming swiping a card.

Jill walked over and checked, finally spotting what he was pointing at. A swipe card sitting in the pocket of a lab coat. How nice of them to leave it behind for her. She smiled, running back over to the door and swiping it, a satisfying beep ringing through the air. The handle on the door spun and it unlocked, slowly opening.

Chris ran into the room, taking Jill in a rough embrace. He kissed her temple and smoothed back her hair, his face the picture of concern. "Worried?" she smiled, wrapping her arms around his neck. He grabbed her cheeks and kissed her again, deeply this time, longingly.

"Fuck yes," he whispered, eventually breaking the contact. Jill smiled and returned the favour, a quick kiss on the lips. "I don't know about you, but I really want to get out of this room right now." Chris nodded and placed a hand on her back, letting her leave first. He looked back at the pit, the final resting place of yet another failed Umbrella creation. It was perfectly still.

"So what happened with Nicholai?" she asked as they left the room, Chris closing the door behind him. The airlock came back on.

"He won't be bothering us again," Chris replied, his face neutral. Jill nodded, looking at her feet. She looked back up at him, a grim smile on her lips. "No big loss."

He nodded in agreement, looking back and then towards the other end of the hall again. He noticed some nearby stairs. "Give me the map."

Jill took the map out of the vest and wordlessly handed it over. Chris laid it out against the wall, checking where they were in reference to the rest of the place. He nodded and folded it back up. "It's the radio room," he indicated with his head, handing the map back. "Let's go check it out."

The room was rather undisturbed compared to the rest of the labs. Chris ran over to the communication equipment and almost let out a laugh. It was still working. Static was blaring over the radio, and the scanner was still scanning the nearby area. He began fiddling with the dials, turning over to the emergency channels. Static after more static. "Come on, there has to be someone out there."

"There's some more bullets over here," Jill muttered from the other side of the room. "Don't you love Raccoon City?"

"Not anymore," Chris replied, still playing with the radio. More static. Even more. And some more still. He sighed. What was the point of a radio if there was no one out there?

Wait. There. Voices. There were voices!

Chris picked up the speaker, trying to contain his excitement. "Hello? Hello? Do you copy?"

More muttering, but no answering. "Come on, dammit!"

Suddenly the voices came over loud and clear. To say it was a message he didn't want to hear would be the understatement of the year.

"All personnal are required to evacuate immediately. The bill has been passed, Raccoon City is to be quarantined. All negotiations have failed. Repeat, all negotiations have failed. Raccoon City will be bombed at promptly 0500 hours. All personnal are required to evacuate immediately. The bill..."

Chris dropped the speaker, oblivious as it dropped loudly on the floor. Jill walked back over and placed a hand on his shoulder, a concerned look on her face. "What's wrong?"

Chris checked his watch. It was almost 5.00 am. Tiny blips started to show up on the scanner.

"Jill..."

"Yes?"

"Time just ran out. We need to get out of here, now!"

He ran for the nearby ladder and began climbing for the roof, Jill right behind him. "What's going on?" she asked, still confused about the sudden rush. Chris quickly reached the roof and yanked Jill up. He grabbed her by the shoulders, looking her directly in the eyes.

"They've gone too far Jill, it can't be contained. Raccoon is about to be bombed, and we are too if we don't get out of here."

Jill's eyes opened wide. "Are you for real?" But he was already running, having spotted a lone chopper at the far side of the roof. As he ran he noticed a few lying in wrecks on the ground below, blood splattered everywhere. Too bad for them. Nemesis had probably gotten bored.

"Come on!"

The pair kept running, this time knowing their life really did depend on it. The factories really were a lot larger than they looked from the outside. "Come on Jill, pick up the pace!"

Chris shortly reached the helicopter, jumping straight in and flicking the switches. Jill caught up a few moments later, jumping into the passenger seat.

"How much longer?" she asked, raising her voice to be heard over the blades that were beginning to whirl. She looked out over the horizon, half expecting it to be in flames already. The way this night had been, why the hell not?

"Uh, a few minutes maybe," Chris muttered, focusing his attention on getting the bird up and flying. He smiled as the blades began spinning faster and faster, lifting them slowly off the roof. "Right, let's do this."

He turned the chopper and they began heading out, flying over the devestated city. The sun was just coming up over the horizon, the sky beginning to turn orange with the promise of a new day. But not for Raccoon, Jill thought sadly. She could see various fires burning throughout the city as the chopper rose higher and higher, giving them a bird's eye view of the endless death beneath them.

"You might want to hold on," Chris turned to her briefly, his headset sitting wonky on his ears. "It could get rough."

Jill nodded and grabbed onto the hand rest above her head, placing her other hand on Chris' knee.

"If... if we don't get out of this alive... I..." Jill sighed and looked out the window. She could finally see the trails of the nukes heading in, far out on the horizon. They'd arrive within minutes. Her hand clenched on Chris' knee. "Thanks. Just, thanks for everything."

Chris smiled. He ran a hand softly over her cheek, tucking some hair behind her ear. "We're going to be fine. Don't you worry about that."

The chopper rose even higher, the ride silent as both S.T.A.R.S. members waited for the inevitable. Either, death on the rocks below, or the destruction of the city they'd once called home. Either way, the morning wasn't going to start off pretty.

"Oh Jesus Chris, they're coming," Jill pressed her face against the window glass, a rocket blazing a trail beneath them. It would be upon Raccoon in moments. Jill could see other nukes coming in from all different directions. About six in total.

"Hang on!" Chris yelled, throwing the chopper forward as fast as it would go. The air around them suddenly seemed to still for a moment, things seeming to freeze in time.

And then the blast.

Jill shielded her eyes, the simultaneous explosions ripping through the air, tearing apart almost everything in sight. The helicopter began to wobble, the aftereffects billowing out from the massive blasts. Fire ran out across the ground beneath them, muliple explosions still going off in the city.

"Chris?"

The helicopter continued wobbling, feeling as though it was going to fall apart around them. Chris was focusing on keeping the thing flying, concentration etched across his face. His arm wobbled as he tried to keep control, the chopper dipping in the air. Jill sat back in her seat, suddenly wishing she was anywhere else.

"Come on, baby, come on..."

The chopper finally settled out, pulling out of its dive and slowly rising again. Smaller explosions continued to go off behind them, before finally all was quiet. It was over.

They passed over the "Raccoon City - Five Miles" sign below, which wobbled from the shockwaves. Jill turned her head back to look at the city; well, what had once been the city. Now it was nothing but a charred black whole, fires burning in all corners.

All because of Umbrella.

She turned back and looked at Chris, tears beginning to burn in her eyes. "This just isn't right," she muttered, wiping an eye and trying to blink away the tears. "What kind of monsters could do this to a city? A whole city!"

"We'll finish this, Jill. I swear it on my life. Umbrella will be taken down."

Jill continued to stare out the window, mourning for the city that had needlessly lost its life this morning. All because of one company's greed. One company's evil.

They would pay. 


End file.
